BANGOR – A Millinocket man was sentenced Tuesday in Penobscot County Superior Court to 13 years in prison, with all but eight years suspended, for sexually abusing two girls under the age of 13.

Joseph M. Harmon, 36, of Millinocket, also was sentenced to to six years probation with conditions that include registering as a sex offender, having no unsupervised contact with minors, no contact with the victims and participation in sex offender counseling.

Harmon was convicted in January by a Penobscot County jury of six counts of gross sex assault and five counts of unlawful sex contact, according to Greg Campbell, Penobscot County assistant district attorney, on Tuesday after the sentencing. The defendant faced a maximum sentence of 20 years.

“This is a substantial sentence based upon the substantial impact the crimes had on these two young girls,” Campbell said. “They are doing quite well now, but this has had devastating consequences to their lives.

“Both girls showed a tremendous amount of courage by coming forward and testifying credibly about the various crimes he committed against them.”

The prosecutor said that one of the girls was assaulted over a period of five years, while the other was abused for two years. Campbell said that the girls were related, but declined to explain how Harmon knew the victims.

Harmon had no prior criminal record and has been held in Penobscot County Jail since his conviction. His motion for a new trial was denied, according to Campbell.