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Six months after a mistrial was declared in a sexual misconduct case, a Warsaw man has pleaded guilty to a lesser charge.
Walter McKee, 35, is accused of forcing himself sexually onto a 16-year-old female in July 1997.
According to court documents and testimony during the trial, McKee told the teen-ager that she might not wake up in the morning if she didn't do as she was told. McKee testified in January that he had no sexual contact with his accuser.
The two-day jury trial in Kosciusko Superior Court I ended with a hung jury after 12 hours of deliberation.
During a recent hearing, McKee entered a plea of guilty to criminal confinement, a Class D felony. If the court accepts the plea, the charges of criminal deviate conduct and sexual battery would be dismissed.
The charge to which McKee pleaded guilty carries a maximum prison term of three years and a fine up to $10,000.
Sentencing is set for 9:15 a.m. Aug. 13 in Kosciusko Superior Court I.
