Jamie Maloney, 28, of Cape Girardeau was found guilty by jury March 13 of first-degree statutory sodomy and second-degree child molestation for sexually abusing an 8-year-old girl, according to information released Thursday and signed by Cape Girardeau County Prosecuting Attorney Mark Welker.

The case was investigated by the Cape Girardeau Police Department and tried before Judge William L. Syler at the Common Pleas Courthouse in Cape Girardeau, according to the release.

The jury deliberated for about 35 minutes before finding Maloney guilty.

"Cases of this nature are often difficult to secure a conviction on due to the fact that, much of the time, the majority of the evidence consists only of a young victim's word against the word of an adult abuser," Welker stated.

First-degree statutory sodomy is an unclassified felony with an autorized term of 10 years to life imprisonment under Missouri law, and second-degree child molestation is a class B felony with an authorized term of imprisonment no less than five and not to exceed 15 years.

A sentencing hearing is scheduled for May 4 at the Cape Girardeau County Courthouse in Jackson.