Leigh Sentenced for Sexual Abuse

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Leigh Sentenced for Sexual Abuse

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A Minot man will spend 40 years in prison for having sexual relations with his biological daughter while the girl was between eight and 11 years old.

Judge Richard Hagar sentenced

34-year-old Gerald Benjamin Leigh to 50 years in prison, with 10 years of the sentence suspended.

Leigh pleaded guilty to the Class Double-A Felony charge of continuous sexual abuse of a minor.

At today's sentencing, prosecutor Kelly Dillon said Leigh was guilty of the most offensive act a father can impose on a daughter.

Leigh committed the sexual abuse when he and his family lived at Minot Air Force Base and in the city of Minot in 2005 through 2009.

Prosecutor Dillon said Leigh's victim will have to live with his acts the rest of her life, and so should he.

The girl and her parents moved out of state in 2009.

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