Former firefighter sentenced to life in child molestation

PUTNAM COUNTY, Fla. -- A former Palatka resident was sentenced on his birthday to life in prison for capital sexual battery on a victim younger than 12.

Mark Brian Fowler, 42, a former firefighter, had been convicted at trial in November for molesting a child from the age of 9 until she was 11. Fowler was found guilty of lewd or lascivious molestation of a child less than 12 years old, a life felony, by a Putnam County jury.

According to a news release, the victim's mother spoke and the victim wrote a statement read at the sentencing hearing about how the sexual abuse has devastated the young girl's life.