A Warren County man has been found guilty of molesting a child, District Attorney Ricky Smith said.

He said Thomas Gabriel, 47, was convicted after a three-day trial in circuit court. Gabriel was charged with sexual battery and molestation of a child younger than 12 years old.

Smith said the 12-member jury deliberated about two hours before returning a verdict of guilty on the molestation charge, but found Gabriel not guilty of sexual battery.

Sentencing was set for Oct. 13 by Circuit Judge M. James Chaney.

“We had hoped to get a guilty verdict on both charges, but we’re glad to get the verdict,” Smith said, adding assistant district attorneys Angela Carpenter and Marcie Southerland prosecuted the case for his office.

“They worked hard putting this case together and I commend them for the work they did,” he said.

Gabriel, whose address was listed as 1650 China Grove Road at the time of his arrest, surrendered to Warren County investigator Stacy Rollison on the charge.

He was arrested after the sheriff’s office received a report of a child younger than 12 being “touched inappropriately by an adult,” Sheriff Martin Pace said at the time of Gabriel’s arrest.

Smith said the molestation occurred several times between November 2014 and Gabriel’s arrest in March 2015.