Cottageville man sentenced to 15 years for sexually assaulting a child

A Cottageville man was sentenced to 15 years in prison Thursday for sexually assaulting a 4-year-old child.

Steve Collins, 68, was sentenced by Circuit Court Judge R. Lawton McIntosh after he entered a guilty plea to third-degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor, according to a news release from 14th Circuit Solicitor Duffie Stone's office.

The assault happened between Aug. 2013 and Aug. 2014, and is not Collins' first offense, the release said.

Collins is registered as a sex offender and was convicted in Virginia for unlawful entry in 1979, forcible sodomy in 1990 and attempted aggravated sexual battery in 1991.

"This was the maximum sentence for this charge, Assistant Solicitor Reed Evans said. "The judge clearly took into consideration this man's prior record. I am pleased the young child in this case was spared from having to testify."

This story was originally published December 18, 2015 at 12:07 PM with the headline "Cottageville man sentenced to 15 years for sexually assaulting a child."