Robert Smith of Dalton faces sentencing for child sex abuse

PITTSFIELD, Mass. (AP) - A Dalton man convicted of sexually abusing two children is scheduled to learn how long he'll spend behind bars.

Robert F. Smith faces a maximum of life in prison at sentencing Thursday in Berkshire Superior Court.

The 35-year-old Smith was convicted last week of 11 charges, including five counts of rape and abuse of a child without force.

Prosecutors say Smith abused the now 17-year-old girl beginning in 2004, when she was in the fourth-grade, and continued until June 2010. Authorities say Smith forced the boy, now 14, to engage in sexual acts with the girl, forced them to watch pornography, and engaged in sex acts with them.

The Berkshire Eagle reports that Smith's lawyers said the victims made up the abuse to hide their own consensual sexual relationship.