City man pleads guilty to sex charges involving child

YOUNGSTOWN — The prosecution is recommending a 13-year prison term for a 29-year-old Wesley Avenue man, who pleaded guilty this week to attempted rape and gross sexual imposition against an 8-year-old child last December.

Mike William Jones decided to plead guilty, rather than proceed with a hearing to determine the competency of a minor witness. Judge R. Scott Krichbaum of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court ordered Jones jailed without bond pending sentencing at 11 a.m. May 29.

In the plea deal, Natasha Frenchko, an assistant county prosecutor, reduced a rape charge carrying a possible life prison term upon conviction to attempted rape, which carries a two- to eight-year prison term. The GSI charge carries a one- to five-year prison term.

The attempted-rape charge carries a fine of up to $15,000, and the GSI charge carries a fine of up to $10,000.