POCATELLO — A jury recently convicted a 52-year-old local man of sexually abusing two underage girls following a trial at the Bannock County Courthouse.

Kenneth Terrell McDermott, of Pocatello, was initially charged with two counts of felony lewd conduct in October 2020 following a four-month Pocatello police investigation.

Prosecutors alleged in charging documents that McDermott sexually abused two girls, ages 14 and 15, in December 2019 and June 2020.

The investigation into McDermott began on June 28, 2020 — two days after he allegedly sexually abused one of the girls at his home in Pocatello — when the girls’ father was made aware of the incident and contacted Pocatello police, authorities said.

The father also told police that he was made aware of an incident from December 2019 in which McDermott sexually abused his other daughter, according to police.

McDermott allegedly sexually abused both girls while giving them massages, police say.

Pocatello police during their investigation obtained text messages between the two girls detailing their abuse and both girls participated in separate forensic interviews at a local child advocacy center that further confirmed the abuse, according to police.

Police attempted to interview McDermott on at least two separate occasions but were unable to do so. The case was ultimately provided to the Bannock County Prosecutor’s Office for the review of criminal charges on Aug. 11, 2020, police said.

The Bannock County Prosecutor’s Office filed the two felony lewd conduct charges against McDermott on Oct. 16, 2020, and a warrant was issued for his arrest, according to court records.

McDermott was arrested on Nov. 6, 2020, and transported to the Bannock County Jail in Pocatello where he remained incarcerated until March 1, 2021, when he posted a $25,000 bond and was subsequently released, court records say. His bond had been reduced from the original amount of $50,000.

A 12-person jury seated in Bannock County convicted McDermott on Sept. 22 of the two lewd conduct charges following a trial lasting two days, court records show.

Both of the teenage victims took the stand to testify and McDermott testified in his own defense during the trial.

McDermott is due back in court on Nov. 21 for a sentencing hearing.

Each of the felony lewd conduct charges filed against McDermott carry a maximum penalty of up to life in prison and fines of up to $50,000.