A day after they began deliberations, jurors on Friday convicted a Casper man of molesting two children.

The jury of eight men and four women found Scott Budig, 34, guilty of two counts of third-degree sexual assault and one count of second-degree sexual abuse of a minor. Jurors acquitted him of two other counts of sexual assault.

Budig, dressed in a dark suit, lowered his head slightly as the first guilty verdict was read by the court clerk. He faces a maximum prison sentence of 50 years.

During a four-day trial in Natrona County District Court, prosecutors played for jurors videotaped interviews with both victims where they described being molested by Budig.

One of the children alleged four separate incidents in 2004 and 2005. The other child described a single incident in February.

Assistant District Attorney Michael Schafer said the taped interviews helped to convince jurors of Budig's guilt.

"It was a tough case," he said.

The prosecutor said he wasn't surprised by the split verdict.

"We understand that some of the counts were problematic to the jury," he said.

Budig, a firefighter and former serviceman, denied on the stand that he molested either child. His attorney, Thomas Smith, suggested the children made up the allegations.

Schafer told jurors the children weren't sophisticated enough to conspire with one another to get Budig in trouble.

The jury began its deliberations a little after 4 p.m. Thursday. Jurors stopped for the night at 8:30 p.m. and resumed their deliberations at 9 a.m. on Friday. They reached a verdict about 4 p.m.

After the verdict was read, a relative of Budig's collapsed in the courtroom. Neither of the children was in court.

Judge Scott Skavdahl ordered Budig to be taken into custody pending sentencing, which likely will be in several weeks.

Reach crime reporter Joshua Wolfson at (307) 266-0582 or at josh.wolfson@trib.com.