Mississippi Man Sentenced For Molesting Louisiana Girl

COVINGTON, La. (AP) — A 37-year-old Picayune, Miss., man has been sentenced to 40 years in prison for committing sexual battery on a young Louisianagirl.

The Times-Picayune reports Barton W. Naftzger Jr. was sentenced Tuesday by state District Judge William J. Burris in Covington, La.

Naftzger went to trial in August on a charge of aggravated rape and was found guilty of the lesser charge after a four-day trial. The 12-person jury deliberated for 5 ½ hours before returning the verdict on Aug. 11.

Naftzger was arrested in September 2007 by Slidell police after a young girl told a family member that she had been molested. The abuse occurred in January of that year when the victim was 7.