Cape man gets 28 years on sodomy charges

BLOOMFIELD, Mo. -- A Cape Girardeau man found guilty last month of molesting a 9-year-old girl was sentenced to 28 years in prison Monday by Stoddard County Circuit Court Judge Joe Satterfield.

Gary D. Bice, 44, was found guilty on three counts of statutory sodomy by a Stoddard County jury in May. The case was heard before Satterfield on a change of venue. The girl, now 10, testified that the sexual abuse occurred almost daily for a time. Bice, in a videotaped interview with police, admitted to the molestation but only because she had pursued him. Bice's lawyer argued at trial that Bice made up his confession and hadn't really committed the crime and that Bice was "mentally slow."

The maximum sentence was life in prison on each count.