Man sentenced to 12 months for sexually assaulting girl

BRENTWOOD - A California man is serving 12 months in the Rockingham County jail for sexually assaulting a young girl over the course of two and a half years.

Charles Harrison, 42, of Sacramento, pleaded guilty Oct. 12 to sexual assault of a minor and second-degree assault and was sentenced Oct. 23 in Rockingham Superior Court, according to the county attorney's office. The case was investigated by Hampton police with detective Anthony Azarian as the lead investigator.

Harrison was indicted last year on three counts of felonious sexual assault, one of felonious sexual assault and one of attempted felonious sexual assault. Indictments stated he sexually assaulted a minor female between Jan. 1, 2010, and Aug. 30, 2012. Prosecutors said the child was over age 13 at the time of the abuse and that Harrison caused her to experience mental trauma.

Harrison will be required to complete a sex offender evaluation within 60 days of his release, then register as a sex offender for 10 years. He was also given a suspended state prison sentence of two to four years and must comply with all treatment recommendations from the sexual offender evaluation.

"We are pleased with the outcome of this case and that the child and her family were given a sense of justice when this man stood before them and admitted his guilt," said County Attorney Patricia Conway.