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After deliberating eight hours, a jury Friday found a man guilty of trying to kidnap a Provo girl while she was walking home from her school bus stop in November 2004.

Jimmy Guard, 27, grabbed Candie McBride's arms from behind, put a hand over her mouth and told her he had a knife, McBride testified in court.

The then-9-year-old child fought back, wrestled away from him and ran home. She provided a description of her attacker and identified him as Jimmy Guard the next day when presented with a photo array.

Defense attorney Dana Facemyer argued McBride was not a reliable eyewitness because her testimony was full of discrepancies and embellishments.

County prosecutor David Sturgill told the jury it was only natural for a young girl to forget details after so much time.

"She second-guessed herself only after a long, arduous cross-examination," he said.

Sturgill said her description of her attacker never changed. He also said Guard's alibi - that he was searching for bankruptcy books in the Salt Lake City public library - did not account for his whereabouts at the time the crime was committed.

"The only possible corroboration of this so-called alibi is a picture taken an hour and 10, 20 minutes after the crime happened," Sturgill told the jury. "That is not an alibi."

Facemyer said he was shocked and sadden. He said he thought his client was not guilty because of the library surveillance image and because of a polygraph he said Guard passed with flying colors.

McBride's mother, Charlotte Carr, said she was pleased with the verdict and supportive of the program radKIDS, where her daughter learned to defend herself.

"I'm just happy," she said. "A lot more babies are protected. She told the truth, and God did the rest."

Guard's mother and half-brother were present but declined to comment.

Sentencing will be at 9 a.m. June 28. Guard is charged in a separate case with two counts of attempted kidnapping and two counts of attempted sodomy for his alleged enticement of two Springville girls in July 2004. Oral arguments for that case are scheduled for 3 p.m. Tuesday.