AUBURN – A former nanny was sentenced Thursday to eight years in prison for sexually abusing a 7-year-old girl.

A local couple hired Robert Baird, 60, of 92 Bartlett St., in February 2002 to help care for their two children while the husband was on a U.S. Navy deployment in another part of the country.

Baird got the job after responding to a help-wanted advertisement. Soon after he started working, he began molesting the couple’s 7-year-old daughter.

The girl testified during a trial in May that Baird repeatedly woke her up in the morning and asked her to lie on her bed so he could clean her private area.

The girl said Baird, who she called Papa Bob, told her that he loved her, and people who love each other touch each other intimately.

The girl’s mother testified that she told Baird not to wash her daughter’s private area, but he didn’t listen. She fired him on March 22, 2003, after her daughter refused to take a bath, protesting, “Papa Bob cleans me every morning.”

The following day, the girl’s mother called police, and Baird was arrested.

He was convicted in May of eight counts of unlawful sexual contact after a trial before a judge.

After Baird’s arrest, police learned that he had been involved in similar incidents in Massachusetts. In 1984, he was convicted of indecent assault and battery for an incident involving a juvenile.

He was charged three years later with raping his girlfriend’s son. But he was acquitted on the charges after a jury found him not guilty by reason of insanity.

According to court records, he was sent to Bridgewater State Hospital where psychiatrists evaluated him and concluded that he had no major mental illness, and there was no reason to commit him.

He was discharged July 14, 1989. Then, at some point, he moved to Lewiston.

Assistant District Attorney Deborah Potter Cashman referred to Baird’s history Thursday when asking that he be sent to prison for eight years. She said he had a pattern of building trust with his victims, then abusing them.

Baird also spoke at the hearing. He told his victim’s parents that he was sorry their daughter had to testify in court, but he continued to deny that he did anything wrong. He also maintained that he was innocent of the charges in Massachusetts.

A psychologist who evaluated Baird after his conviction concluded, “He appears to be an unrepentant repeat pedophile that has little empathy for his victim or her family.”

Baird will be on probation for four years after he is released from prison. During that time, he will be barred from having contact with children.