A 58-year-old, former Rolla resident was sentenced to 20 years in jail Monday after he was found guilty by a jury on two counts of first-degree statutory sodomy.

Daniel E. Phillips, of Salem, was sentenced to serve two, consecutive 10-year sentences by the court on charges of having deviate sexual intercourse with a person less than 14 years of age.

Although Prosecuting Attorney Courtney George argued before Circuit Judge Tracy L. Storie for the maximum sentence of life imprisonment for each count, citing the nature and severity of the crimes, George said she was pleased with the outcome of the case.

“Due to the age of the defendant and the length of his sentence, he will most likely never be able to prey on children again,” George said.

The charges levied against Phillips, who was arrested in 2007, covered repeated molestations of the same victim, a minor child, throughout 2002 and 2003.

The two-day trial in March by the 25th Circuit Court in Phelps County included an audio-taped confession by Phillips and testimony from the victim and the victim’s mother.

Defense Attorney Stephen W. Daniels argued in Phillips’ trial that his confession was coerced by overly zealous law-enforcement officers who intimidated and pressured him throughout a 4-1/2 to five-hour interview.

During the trial, Phillips took the stand in his own defense and said, “I was naive in thinking I was going to clear my name when I went down there. I think they already had me convicted in this and were just pressuring me into making the statements.

“I was confused most of time throughout the interview. I said things just to make them happy,” Phillips said of his interview with officers.

Phillips also claimed the victim lied.

George told the jury that although no actual physical evidence was presented in the trial to support the victim’s testimony, the jury would have to decide whether they believed the testimony of the victim or the defendant.

The jury rendered a guilty verdict after two hours of deliberation.