A local man convicted of aggravated sexual battery of a child in April has been sentenced to eight years and six months in the state penitentiary.Judge Leon Burns, Jr. sentenced 44-year old Kenneth Lee Moore in DeKalb County Criminal Court Friday.The range of punishment for the crime is eight to 12 years.Moore was tried last month on a charge of rape of a child, but after more than four hours of deliberation an eight-woman, four-man jury returned a verdict of the lesser included offense of aggravated sexual battery.The sentence requires an eight year, six-month confinement, to serve at 85 percent before release eligibility.Moore will be on community supervision for life as a sex offender.Moore was arrested by the sheriff’s department and accused of raping his 12-year-old niece on Nov. 15, 2010.The child, who was living with Moore at the time due to family hardships, allegedly awoke from sleep to find Moore having oral sex with her.The defense maintained that the case was a “he-said, she-said” situation with no corroborating evidence.A motion for a new trial will be heard on July 22 in DeKalb County Criminal Court.