A Ronan man was sentenced in District Court in Polson Dec. 3 for assaulting two young children. Jarod Matthew Joseph, 25, entered a plea of guilty Aug. 13 to two counts of sexual assault and one count of bail jumping.

Judge Molly Owens sentenced him to the Montana State Prison for a total of 24 years, with 16 years suspended. She added a parole restriction of eight years and gave Joseph credit for having served 272 days in jail.

According to court records, the mother of the two girls reported that she suspected Joseph had assaulted the girls in April 2020. When interviewed by a detective with the Lake County Sheriff’s Office, Joseph admitted to the act. He then failed to appear in court Feb. 21, 2021, on the related charges.