A Boothbay Harbor man was found guilty of gross sexual assault against a young girl.

A jury in Lincoln County Superior Court in Wiscasset convicted 36-year-old Kenneth Dobson on June 27 of six counts of Class A gross sexual assault. Dobson was found innocent of 17 other gross sexual assault charges. Some of those involved the same victim and others involved a second alleged victim.

It was Dobson's second trial in the case. His first one, in February, ended in a mistrial after a witness for the prosecution made statements the jury was not supposed to hear.

Sentencing is tentatively planned for August. Justice Jeffrey Hjelm or-dered Dobson held without bail until he is sentenced. Neither prosecutor Andrew Wright, nor Dobson's attorney David Paris knew what they will recommend for sentencing.

Each of Dobson's six convictions are felonies, punishable by at most 30 years in prison. All six offenses occurred in Boothbay in 2005 and 2006 involving a girl who was younger than 14 years old.

Paris was surprised by the way the jury split its decision on the 23 charges. After the verdict was returned, Paris said the case against Dobson on the six charges on which he was convicted was weaker than some of the other 17. Because of certain aspects of the victims’ mother’s testimony, Paris said he is “baffled by the logic.”

Paris plans to appeal the convictions. He doesn't feel the evidence can sustain them, he said. "I was quite surprised. I don't know what goes on with a jury sometimes."

Asked how Dobson was doing, Paris said his client was "disappointed and very surprised" by the convictions.

Wright, interviewed separately, said he was pleased with the outcome. "We're happy that he was held responsible for what he did." Wright attributed the split verdicts to "the fickle nature of juries."

For a description of how the jury came to their decision, see “A juror’s experience."