SOUTH PARIS — A Rumford man was ordered Tuesday to serve nine months of an eight-year sentence for sexually assaulting an 8-year-old girl in 2020.

Izayha J. Walsh Rumford Police Department photo

Izayha J. Walsh, 21, appeared in Oxford County Superior Court where Judge Tammy Ham-Thompson imposed the sentence after accepting his plea to a charge of gross sexual assault, a felony that carries a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison.

According to a plea agreement reached with prosecutors, Walsh will be on probation for eight years after his release from jail.

He will be required to register as a sex offender for his lifetime.

The girl had disclosed to the Department of Health and Human Services that she had been sexually assaulted by Walsh during a walk along a trail near the Androscoggin River in downtown Rumford on April 20, 2020, according to police.

During questioning with Rumford police after the girl’s disclosure, Walsh initially denied the allegation of wrongdoing, but later admitted to the criminal conduct described by the girl, Assistant District Attorney Leslie Wilson said Tuesday.

“The defendant stated he knew in the moment what he was doing was wrong,” Wilson said Tuesday.

She said the girl did “not want the defendant to be incarcerated for an extended period of time.”

While on probation, Walsh must have no contact with the girl or with anyone younger than 16.

He will be required to complete an evaluation, counseling and treatment on an outpatient basis for sex offenders to the satisfaction of his probation officer, the judge said.

Walsh, who has been free on bail, surrendered to court officers Tuesday to begin serving his sentence.

Two other charges of gross sexual assault were dismissed by prosecutors Tuesday.