BAY MINETTE — A life sentence was handed down Friday for a Bay Minette man convicted of sexually assaulting the young daughter of a woman he was dating.

Robert Earl Adams Jr., 30, had been found guilty Aug. 20 in Baldwin County Circuit Court on charges of first-degree sodomy, first- degree sex abuse and first-degree rape.

Visiting Escambia County Circuit Judge Bert Rice sentenced Adams to concurrent sentences of life in prison for the rape conviction, 10 years for the sex abuse conviction and life for the sodomy charge.

Adams pleaded for a lesser sentence because has two daughters to care for, he said.

"I ain't never touched no child," he added.

Adams, indicted in September 2007, has remained at the Baldwin County Corrections Center. A judge had set his bail at $300,000.

Assistant District Attorney Matt Simpson said investigators think the abuse likely occurred in 2004, but are not sure. The victim is believed to have been between 5 and 7 years old during that time.

He said Adams' abuse was "a continued action" that occurred so often the victim couldn't tell investigators how many times it happened.

The victim's mother also testified during the hearing that her daughter, now 12, has made lower grades and has dealt with other issues since the abuse.

Citing a lack of evidence other than the testimony, Adams' attorney, Derek Rose, said he will appeal.

"To send this man to life for, in my opinion, something he did not do would be unjust," Rose said.