AUGUSTA — An Oakland man who admitted to raping a young girl multiple times was sentenced to 20 years in prison Thursday.

Jeramy D. Hinton

The victim’s mother said Jeramy D. Hinton is a predator who cannot be trusted. She said his actions made her daughter timid and so lacking in self-esteem she distanced herself from others as a way to cope with what he put her through. Though she added that since Hinton has been in jail awaiting court action, her daughter has started to become more confident.

“I just want to take the pain and shame away from her, and I can’t,” the woman testified in court Thursday. “She’s becoming confident in her own skin. She’s finding her voice, and she’s discovering who she is. She’s discovering what it’s like to be free. But she will never be free of the pain he caused her.”

Hinton, 49, of Oakland, was indicted on charges he sexually assaulted a girl, who was younger than the age of 12 at the time, multiple times between 2018 and 2020, in Oakland. But the victim’s mother and a state prosecutor suggested the sexual abuse of the girl by Hinton had gone on much longer than that.

Assistant District Attorney Kristin Murray-James noted not all crimes committed by Hinton were charged, and said the abuse of the victim started when she was 4 years old and continued until within weeks of when the girl disclosed what he had done when she was 11.

“Jeramy is a very sick and twisted individual,” the victim’s mother said, adding that she now asks herself how she didn’t see it happening and whether he has molested any other children. “He was living a double life, almost as if it were a game he was playing. My eyes are open to the man Jeramy is. He’s a danger to young women and children everywhere.”

The Kennebec Journal’s policy is not to identify victims of sexual assault.

Hinton, through his attorney, Lisa Whittier, declined to speak in court.

He pleaded guilty to two counts of gross sexual assault and two counts of unlawful sexual contact in July.

An affidavit filed by Brittany Johnson, a Kennebec County Sheriff’s Office investigator, states that in December 2020 Hinton admitted to police he had sexually assaulted the girl and said the assaults began about five years ago. He acknowledged knowing what he did was wrong and said he continued to ask God why he did it, according to the affidavit.

Murray-James said the fact that Hinton confessed, thus sparing the girl from having to testify about the assaults in court during a jury trial, appeared to be the only mitigating factor to be considered in his sentencing. She said the several aggravating factors to consider include how long the abuse occurred.

He was sentenced by Superior Court Justice Michaela Murphy to 20 years in prison, followed by an additional 10 years of supervised release. When he’s on supervised release his conditions will include that he undergo sex offender counseling, that he have no contact with the victim or her family, or anyone younger than 16 years old.

Murphy said if Hinton violates any of those conditions while he is on supervised release, he could be sentenced to another 20 years in prison, for a potential total of 40 years.

“The victim impact here has been profound,” Murphy said after hearing the mother’s testimony. “I am heartened to hear the child does seem to be healing. I don’t doubt that has to do with who her mother is. I don’t underestimate what you said about the damage you’ve had done to your family and the injury and harm that has been inflicted on your daughter.”

Hinton also will be required to register for the state’s sex offender registry for the rest of his life.

“He’s a lifetime registrant, so the public will be aware he was convicted of these crimes,” Murray-James said.

The girl disclosed the assaults to her mother, who reported it to Oakland police, and that agency asked the sheriff’s office to investigate. The girl told investigators the incidents felt gross and she was told by Hinton that they would be their “little secret” and he would go to jail if she ever told anyone, according to the affidavit.