LINCOLN, Neb. -- An Auburn man serving a 23-to-100 year prison sentence for multiple convictions of sexual assault of a child will be staying behind bars.

The Nebraska Court of Appeals upheld the convictions of 54-year-old Brian Betts in a decision released Tuesday.

Betts was sentenced in August of 2020 after being convicted of raping two girls.

Betts said in court when he was sentenced that one of the victims was lying. He argued in his appeal that his trial counsel was ineffective and pressured him into accepting a plea agreement.

The state appeals court disagreed, however, upholding his sentence.

Betts will first be eligible for parole in 2039.