A Putnam County jury took only 50 minutes to convict a Monticello man Thursday afternoon on charges of molesting two girls, 9 and 10, in 2005, Ocmulgee Judicial Circuit Chief Assistant District Attorney Stephen Bradley said.

Wayne Harvey Stewart, 53, was found guilty of two counts each of enticing a child for indecent purposes, three counts child molestation, and one count aggravated child molestation.

“In April 2005, he coaxed the two girls to go down into the woods with him to their clubhouse, which is an old hog pen,” Bradley said. “There he paid them money to dance, undress, touch his private part, and to lick one of the girls. He asked them to do more and they declined.”

The trial began Tuesday in the Putnam County Courthouse and the jury heard testimony from the girls as well as evidence of previous alleged molestation by Stewart, Bradley said.

“They heard about when he fondled a 4-year-old girl and that he had attempted to fondle the victims in this case in the past,” Bradley said.

Stewart is related to the two girls by marriage.

Superior Court Judge Hulane George sentenced Stewart to 40 years, 30 of which must be served in prison, Bradley said. Stewart also will have to register as a convicted sex offender, Bradley said.

“We were pleased with the jury’s verdict,” said Bradley, who noted that the courage of the girls’ testimony helped the case.

“It was very difficult for these girls to testify in front of a jury of people they don't know about some very damaging and embarrassing information,” Bradley said.