Two Covington County men were sentenced to prison Wednesday for sex crimes against children.

Assistant District Attorney Grace Jeter said Derrick Dewayne Kelley and David Alford Jr. each entered plea agreements in separate cases.

In the case against Kelley, Jeter said the abuse occurred in 2003 but was not reported by the girl until more than five years later.

Kelley, who was originally indicted by the grand jury on charges of first-and second-degree rape, pled to second-degree rape and was sentenced to 15 years in prison. He was represented by Corey Bryan.

This is Kelley’s second conviction for sexually abusing a child. In 2003, he was found guilty of sexually abusing a 9-year-old girl.

Alford was initially arrested in 2008 following allegations he exposed himself to a girl under the age of 12. A grand jury elevated his charges that same year to include first-degree sodomy, four counts of sex abuse and enticing a child to enter for immoral purposes.

Jeter said Alford pled to the enticing charge and was sentenced to 10 years in prison – the maximum sentence for the charge under the law.

“It’s so important to educate children to report sexual abuse quickly,” she said. “The two cases could not have been more different in regards to reporting. In one instance, the abuse went unreported for more than five years. In the other, it was reported in matter of days.

“When the abuse is reported quickly, not only does the abuse come to a stop, but there is also more opportunities to gather evidence,” she said. “I’m glad that we were able to send these men who preyed upon the children of this community to prison for their crimes.”

Both will also have to comply with the Community Notification Act, which requires each to register their home and work addresses with authorities once released from prison.