A 28 year-old Clay County man pleaded guilty to seven counts of attempted capital sexual battery and two counts of lewd or lascivious molestation involving a boy and a girl younger than ten.

The State Attorney's Office says Matthew Covey molested the two children between 2009 and 2010.  According to a press release, authorities were alerted to the abuse when the little girl told her pediatrician and mother that Covey had inappropriately touched.

“This guilty plea allows our young victims the chance to heal without facing their abuser in court,” said Assistant State Attorney James Colaw.

Covey was sentenced to 30 years in prison followed by a lifetime of sex offender probation.

As part of his Friday sentencing, Covey was designated a sexual predator.