CAMDEN COUNTY, Ga. — A Camden County man, aged 32, was convicted of rape, child molestation, and incest involving his 12-year-old stepdaughter after a jury took just five minutes to reach a decision on Tuesday.

The man will not be named in this story, to avoid publicly identifying his stepdaughter. 

The man received his sentence immediately following the verdict. He was handed a life sentence for rape, twenty years for child molestation, and fifty years for incest. All of these sentences will be served concurrently.

During the trial, evidence revealed that he had been raping his stepdaughter at their St. Marys residence for at least a year starting from August 2020. The victim had confided in her mother that before relocating to Georgia, her stepfather had sexually abused her, yet the mother failed to take action.

The mother was sentenced on felony charges for her involvement in the abuse.

The victim, who is now 16, thanked St. Marys Police Detective Kimberly Reale on the witness stand. She said Reale, who was the first to respond to the scene when the assaults were reported, was responsible for stopping the abuse.

Keith Higgins, District Attorney for the Brunswick Judicial Court, said the victim is now living in a loving home. 

“The victim in this case continues to reside in Camden County, but does so now under the love and care of her adopted parents,” he wrote in a release.