A court in Vung Tau, the coastal city of the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau, on Friday sentenced a 77-year-old man to three years in prison for child sexual abuse.

Nguyen Khac Thuy was found committing lewd acts on two girls, aged six and 11, in separate cases in April and May 2014, at the local Lakeside apartment complex, according to court documents.

In the first case, the elderly man touched the sensitive parts of the little girl and was later scolded and beaten into the face by the victim’s father.

In the second incident, the victim was talking with her friend in her apartment at Lakeside when Thuy appeared and put his hand through the door to commit lewd acts on her.

Nguyen Khac Thuy is seen at a court in Vung Tau, southern Vietnam.

Thuy pleaded not guilty to charges of child molestation during the investigation process and at Friday’s court.

The court declared Thuy’s appeal inadmissible, ruling that there is sufficient evidence to charge him.

The court therefore rejected Thuy’s not-guilty peal as well as the appeal of his lawyer and upheld the verdict.

In September, Ba Ria - Vung Tau police recommended that the 77-year-old be prosecuted for molesting four preteen girls.