The District Attorney’s Office received a guilty verdict from a jury in the trial of an accused sexual battery of a victim under the age of 14.

Kevin Darnell Powell, 37, is accused of having abused a 6-year-old girl by touching her inappropriately at the girl’s home in July and August of 2013.

He was indicted in May 2014.

The victim’s aunt, her mother’s sister, was married to Powell. The mother and grandmother of the victim were both called by the state to testify. The victim, who is now 8 years old, also testified for the jury explaining the abuse she experienced.

District Attorney Ricky Smith said he was amazed at the victim’s ability to go before people she didn’t know and talk about intimate details, which some adults would have trouble describing.

“I want to say how proud I am of our little victim in this case,” Smith said. “At 8 years old, she was able to testify in open court, in front of a lot of strangers, and point out the person who had abused her. She is a very brave little girl.”

In solidarity, the District Attorney’s Office wore purple, the victim’s favorite color, on the day she testified.

Smith was also proud of the time and effort put in by two assistant district attorneys on this case.

“I want to commend the work of Angela Carpenter and Marcie Southerland, my assistant district attorneys who worked tirelessly to bring this case to a successful conclusion,” Smith said.

Carpenter and Southerland also commended the girl’s bravery and her grandmother’s fortitude.

They said the victim was interviewed by the Children’s Advocacy Center in Jackson and was also evaluated at the Children’s Safe Center at the University of Mississippi Medical Center after the incident was reported “to provide the child with a safe setting and medical environment to aid in making a determination of what happened.” The CAC expert testified the victim’s statements were consistent with abuse.

Smith said the jury deliberated for 45 minutes before returning with their verdict.

After the verdict was given, Powell hired a new attorney from out of town for sentencing. Sentencing was pushed back for the new attorney to have more time to review the case.

Circuit Judge Isadore Patrick will sentence Powell Dec. 10 after a sentencing hearing set for Dec. 3. He faces up to life in prison with a minimum of 20 years.