An Opp man this week was given two life sentences plus 20 years for molesting a 7-year-old girl in 2008.

Circuit Judge Charles A. “Lex” Short ordered William George Maxie, 67, to serve the maximum prison sentences for molesting the child, now 11.

Maxie was convicted in August of rape I, sodomy I and sexual abuse of a child under the age of 12 after the victim, who is related to Maxie, told friends on the playground about the abuse. In turn, two classmates reported it to the teacher, who reported the abuse to the county department of human resources.

At one point, the victim recanted the allegations; however, the evidence proved otherwise, District Attorney Walt Merrell said.

This case also highlighted the trauma suffered by abuse victims, he said.

“Child abuse is about domination and cruelty, and people who hurt children rarely content themselves with one type of abuse,” he said. “Sexual abuse goes hand-in-hand with emotional and psychological abuse, as was evident in the Maxie case.”