ROCKLAND — A South Thomaston man was sentenced to 12 years in prison for sexually assaulting a child from 2014 through 2019.

Adam Grierson, 35, was sentenced by Justice Daniel Billings Nov. 30 in Knox County Court for five counts of gross sexual assault and one count of unlawful sexual touching.

The victim was a child younger than 12 years old.

Grierson was arrested in May 2020 by Rockland Police after an investigation conducted by Rockland Detective Joel Neal. He was initially charged with 25 counts of gross sexual assault, one count of unlawful sexual touching and one count of aggravated assault, according to the court document.

The additional charges against Grierson were dismissed as part of a plea agreement reached between the state and defense.

He entered an “Alford plea” in court, which means he maintained his innocence but admitted that the prosecution's evidence would likely result in a guilty verdict if brought to trial.

After Grierson serves his prison term, he will be on supervised release for 25 years, must register for a lifetime with the Maine Sex Offender Registry, undergo sex offender and mental health counseling and not have any contact with the victim or any children under the age of 16.

Attorney Jeremy Pratt of Camden represented Grierson.

Grierson, who has been free on bail, will begin serving his prison sentence on Dec. 27.

Sarah Shepherd can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com