A 40 year maximum prison sentence has been ordered for a Guntersville man who sexually abused a 9-year-old child.

According to the Marshall County District Attorney’s Office, a judge rendered the sentence Monday against James Alan Hayes, 51.

Hayes turned himself in and confessed to Geraldine Police Department investigators in September 2024 that he molested a child family member.

He entered plea to two counts of sexual abuse of a child.

Under Alabama law, each charge amounts to a maximum of 20 years behind bars or 40 in total.

Hayes is not eligible for parole or good time and will serve his sentence until he is 92-years-old or dies in prison.

“The victim in this case has been through the unimaginable and is still struggling today. I ask that our community pray for her healing,” Marsh

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