A Graysville man arrested in October 2004 for allegedly raping a 10-year-old girl and sexually assaulting another pleaded guilty in Rhea County Circuit Court Monday.

Charles Lester Conley, 45, of Long Street in Graysville, was indicted last October by the Rhea County Grand Jury for two counts of rape of a child, a Class A felony, and two counts of aggravated sexual battery of a child, a Class B felony.

A 10-year-old Spring City girl told her mother in July 2004 that Conley had touched her and forced her to touch him in an inappropriate way while at her grandmother's home in Dayton. The mother called the Department of Children's Services, which investigated the case along with then-Dayton Police Department Investigator Chris Sneed.

That investigation resulted in an indictment for one count of aggravated sexual battery of a child.

But, the investigation turned up a second 10-year-old girl from Dayton who alleged that Conley had sexually assaulted her at his Graysville home on three separate occasions. Deputy Rocky Potter, who investigates crimes against children for the Rhea County Sheriff's Department, investigated those charges.

Potter's investigation resulted in an indictment for two counts of rape of a child and one count of aggravated sexual battery of a child.

Conley faced a total possible sentence of 74 years in prison if convicted on all counts.

Monday, Conley's defense attorney, Arnold Fitzgerald, entered into a plea agreement with Assistant District Attorney Jim Pope. Conley agreed to plead guilty to two counts of aggravated sexual battery of a child.

Judge J. Curtis Smith accepted the guilty plea and sentenced Conley to serve the maximum sentence for each count-12 years-concurrently. Since those convicted of sex crimes against children must serve 100 percent of their sentences, Conley must spend 12 years in prison.

John Carpenter can be reached at jcarpenter@xtn.net.