Sep. 18—A Jasper County judge assessed a Carthage man 10 years in prison Monday for molestation of an underage girl and attempted sexual abuse of a young woman.

Elton M. Killion, 32, pleaded guilty in Jasper County Circuit Court to a count of third-degree molestation of a girl under 14 years old and to attempted sodomy of a 20-year-old woman in a plea agreement with the prosecutor's office.

Killion's plea deal dismissed a second count of third-degree child molestation and reduced what had been a charge of sexual abuse to attempted sodomy with respect to the adult victim. Judge Dean Dankelson accepted the plea agreement and assessed the defendant the agreed-upon length of sentences at 10 years for the child molestation and four years for attempted sodomy, with the terms to run concurrently.

A 12-year-old girl testified at a preliminary hearing in December 2021 that Killion first made her uncomfortable when she was 10 or 11 years old. His advances progressed to inappropriate touching on subsequent occasions, with her recalling how she woke up one time to find him in bed with her and touching her in a sexual manner.

A 20-year-old woman testified at the same hearing that Killion had given her some Xanax the previous summer that caused her to pass out. She later awakened to find that she had been moved into a bedroom where Killion was touching her as she slipped in and out of consciousness.

She said he later offered her $50 not to tell anyone what happened. Out of fear, she did not tell anyone for a few months.