A Beaufort County jury has returned a guilty verdict in a case in which a 15-year-old Washington man was accused of raping his 11-year-old cousin in 2011.

Anfernee Collins, 18, was sentenced to 32 to 40 years in prison for four counts of first-degree rape of a child.

The trial started Monday in Beaufort County Superior Court and saw the testimony of many of the defendant’s and victim’s relatives, much of which gave opposing viewpoints as to what happened in 2011. Collins’ mother, grandmother — also the victim’s grandmother — and the victim’s biological mother all testified that the victim told them separately, with no witnesses present, that the crimes did not occur. However, the victim, her stepmother and child welfare professionals gave a didn’t account, one that resulted in the child’s rape on four separate occasions.

With little physical evidence, the jury was required to rely solely on testimonial evidence to reach its verdict.

Collins’ defense attorney argued that it was a soured relationship — one based on selling marijuana — between Collins and the girl’s biological father that led to the charges against his client. The false accusation was retribution for the falling out, spurred by the influence of the victim’s father and stepmother.

“This young lady has been prodded into this story,” Fox said during closing arguments on Wednesday.

He told the jury the many inconsistencies in what was recorded at the time the crime was reported and the testimony given under oath in court leant weight to the argument that lies are harder to remember than the truth.

In the prosecution’s closing arguments, Assistant District Attorney Ray Cameron pointed out to the jury that the victim had established her credibility — testifying in the face of Collin’s alleged threat he would kill her and her family if she told anyone about the crime. The direct evidence of the crime was the victim’s testimony, Cameron said.

Fox gave notice to the court that the case would be appealed, but the prosecution was unsurprised by the guilty verdict.

“It’s the jury’s burden to return a verdict that finds the truth of what happened. We think the jury in this case did that,” said Assistant District Attorney Tom Anglim.

According to court officials, upon release in 32 to 40 years, Collins must be registered as a sex offender and be placed on satellite monitoring for the remainder of his life.