JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- A convicted sexual predator was back in court on Tuesday fighting for what he said is his right to get out of a sexual treatment center.

Nearly two decades ago, Roger Roark admitted he sexually assaulted two of his relatives in Clay County. He spent eight years in prison before being released and heading to Kentucky because he did not have a home in Florida.

Roark was later arrested in Kentucky and he confessed to sexually assaulting a 17-year-old. He served a 12-month sentence in Kentucky. He then returned to Florida in 2004 and was held in prison for a violation of probation.

Under the Jimmy Ryce Act, which calls for inmates with histories of sex offenses to be reviewed to determine the likelihood of reoffending, Roark has been held in the Florida Civil Commitment Center for treatment since his released by the Department of Corrections in 2006.

On Tuesday, Roark, 39, and his lawyers were in a Duval County courtroom seeking the sexual predator’s freedom.

However, the state claimed Roark is still a danger and wants him held in the treatment center for sexual offenders.

“He has preyed sexually on women. He has preyed sexually on children,” said an attorney for the state.

In court, Roark’s victims took the stand. Among them were the two relatives he molested in Middleburg in the early 1990s.

One of Roark’s family members said the molestation took place for more than a year and that she was 8 years old at the time assaults.

“He would touch me in my clothes, under my clothes,” the victim said. “He said, ‘You know you can’t tell anybody about this because people won’t understand.’”

Another victim said the sexual assaults continued until she and her sister told their father, and Roark was arrested and taken to prison in 1992.

“It seemed to get worse and worse. As time went by, it got more frequent. Every time he had an opportunity and no one was looking or he didn’t think anyone was around is when it would happen,” the victim said.

Roark’s hearing is expected to continue on Wednesday, when he and his wife are expected to take the stand.