A former guard at a Texas Youth Commission school in Brownwood is facing as much as 20 years in prison after he was convicted of sexually assaulting students.

The penalty phase of the trial James Allen Sullivan, 43, of Early was scheduled to begin Friday.

A jury Thursday in Brownwood convicted Sullivan on four counts sexual assault counts related to three female students at the Ron Jackson Juvenile Justice Center.

The three, who are no longer in custody, testified that Sullivan sexually assaulted them in a storage closet in a dormitory, in attacks between October 2003 and May 2004.

Sullivan testified Wednesday he did not have sexual contact with the girls.