MERCER, PA. Plea reached in sex assault

Armand Brenneman reached a plea bargain with the attorney general's office.
MERCER, Pa. -- A former Mercer County Jail guard has pleaded guilty to 18 criminal counts accusing him of illegal sexual contact with a 13-year-old girl.
Armand P. Brenneman, 45, of Clark, entered the pleas during a pre-trial motion hearing Thursday before visiting Judge Barry Feudale of Northumberland County.
Brenneman is the son of Mercer County Commissioner Cloyd E. "Gene" Brenneman.
The case was handed over to a visiting judge and was prosecuted by the Pennsylvania Attorney General's office because of Brenneman's link with the Mercer County judicial system.
He had been held for trial on two counts of attempted involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, one count of attempted sexual assault, two counts of aggravated indecent assault, 12 counts of indecent assault and five counts of corruption of a minor.
The charges: In a plea bargain arranged with the attorney general's office, Brenneman pleaded guilty to seven first-degree misdemeanor counts of indecent assault, seven second-degree misdemeanor counts of indecent assault and four first-degree misdemeanor counts of corrupting the morals of a minor.
All other charges were dropped.
The victim told authorities that Brenneman sexually assaulted her several times in June and July of last year.
The assaults occurred at the girl's home in Sheakleyville, Brenneman's home in Hermitage at the time and the girl's grandmother's home in Sheakleyville.
The girl initially told no one, but eventually confided in two Internet correspondents who urged her to tell someone in authority.
The girl said she eventually confided in her mother.
Brenneman is free on bond pending sentencing, which is set for 10:30 a.m. July 16.