MOBILE, Ala. (AP) - An employee of the juvenile court's Youth Advocacy Program has been found guilty of sodomizing two teenage girls.

Sherman Tate appeared in court Thursday and was acquitted of a rape charge. Both girls were students at Mobile's Point Academy, a school for troubled youth, when the assaults occurred in 2010. The girls testified that 38-year-old Tate had assaulted them on several occasions.

Tate took the stand in his defense, claiming his own troubled past was a factor in his efforts to work with teens. The prosecutor said the availability of victims was too much temptation.

Tate was sentenced to an 8.5 year prison term. He will be required to register as a sex offender.

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