A Cherokee County man who sexually assaulted his live-in girlfriend's 10-year-old daughter will spend 35 years behind bars.
Austin Carl Puckett was sentenced Wednesday for molesting the girl between 2017 and 2018, starting when she was 9 years old, the Cherokee County District Attorney's Office said Friday in a news release.
Puckett was arrested after the child reported the abuse to her grandmother in March 2018, prosecutors said.
He was convicted earlier this month of one count each of child molestation, aggravated child molestation, criminal attempt to commit aggravated child molestation and aggravated sexual battery, authorities said.
The abuse occurred at a Holly Springs home Puckett shared with his girlfriend and two children, prosecutors said, adding that he was frequently left alone with the girl.
“A child’s innocence was lost due to this defendant’s crime,” District Attorney Shannon Wallace said. “The defendant was a father figure to her, someone she trusted and cared about. But he betrayed that trust by sexually assaulting her. The jury heard evidence from both sides and their verdict has ensured that this man will never harm another child again.”
Deputy Chief ADA Zachary Smith, who prosecuted the case, said the abuse caused the young girl to lose trust in men.
“A life sentence is nothing compared to the the life sentence Austin Puckett inflicted on this child,” Smith said. “The defendant has a history of family violence and child sexual abuse was an escalation of this. Thank God this child reported the sexual abuse so he could be stopped.”
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