Man gets life in child molestation case

FREDERICKSBURG, Va. (AP) - A Spotsylvania County man has been given multiple life sentences for repeatedly molesting two young girls.

Forty-one-year-old Sean Stephen Hale was sentenced Wednesday for his guilty plea to two counts each of rape, sodomy, object sexual penetration and producing child pornography.

Court records show an investigation began in May when an 11-year-old showed up at school with bruises.

Commonwealth's attorney Bill Neely tells The Free Lance-Star it's one of the longest prison sentences he can recall in the county.

Judge David Beck agreed with prosecutor Crystal Montague-Holland's argument that sentencing guidelines weren't enough for what she called Hale's "vile and heinous" acts.

Hale did not apologize in a statement, saying he hoped to get out of prison to teach his son about carpentry and to see his mother.