A Jackson County man will spend a minimum of nine decades in jail for sexually abusing two teenage girls and plotting to kidnap one of them. After the jury returned a guilty verdict last week but before the sentencing phase of the trial, Kenneth David Groat, 40, of Sylva, owned up to his alleged crimes, the District Attorney’s office said in a press release. A Superior Court Judge handed down a sentence of a minimum of 89 years imprisonment and up to 134 years, the release said. Groat’s alleged crimes came to light in December of 2019 during a forensic interview with AWAKE Child Advocacy Center.
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