A Boothbay Harbor man was sentenced August 30 to serve 12 years in prison for gross sexual assault against a young girl.

Lincoln County Superior Court Justice Jeffrey Hjelm sentenced Kenneth Dobson, 37, to a  total of 27 years for six crimes a jury found him guilty of June 27; however, the justice suspended all but 12 years, and gave Dobson eight years’ probation, Dobson’s defense lawyer David Paris said August 31.

The jury in June found Dobson 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.

Dobson's six convictions were all felonies, each 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.

Calling the sentence “disappointing,” Paris said he plans to appeal it as well as the convictions. 

The approximately 15 months Dobson has been at Two Bridges Regional Jail in Wiscasset, awaiting his trials and sentencing, “will come right off the top” of the 12-year sentence to shorten it, Paris said. His client will also be entitled to “good time,” he said. Paris was unable to project Dobson’s release date.

Prosecutor Andrew Wright could not immediately be reached for comment.