A Brighton Township teen accused of multiple sexual assaults and originally charged with 31 felonies, has pleaded guilty to six charges.

The majority of the original charges against the 16-year-old stem from allegations that he sexually assaulted three teen girls in Livingston County within the last two and a half years. He was charged with nine counts of possession of child sexually abusive material which are connected to incidents involving four other alleged victims.

Though he first faced over 30 felony charges, a plea deal worked out between the teen’s attorney and the Livingston County Prosecutor’s Office calls for him to plead guilty to six; one count each of first-degree criminal sexual conduct and accosting a minor for immoral purposes, and four counts of possession of child sexually explicit material.

The teen, who is not being named because he is charged as a juvenile, has been moved to the Genesee Valley Regional Detention Center and will be kept there pending his sentencing October 19th. In the juvenile system, the court takes jurisdiction and can impose a sentence regardless of whether the crime is a misdemeanor or felony. At sentencing, the court will know all about the teen’s conduct, which Livingston County Prosecutor Bill Vailliencourt says is about “obtaining a just and appropriate result”. The court has a number of options, including detention, residential treatment, rehabilitation, probation, and any other conditions it feels will provide for community safety.

Because the teen admitted to one of the most serious charges, first-degree criminal sexual conduct, he will be required to register as a sex offender for life. Vailliencourt says the hope is that “this will bring some closure for the victims and help them in their healing process.” (DK)