A Level 3 sex offender facing multiple indictments on sexual assault and other charges entered a guilty plea today to attempted criminal sexual act in the first degree.
That's a Class C violent felony.
The plea means there will be no trial next week for Marlek Holmes, 42, who if he had been convicted at trial of the Class A felonies of predatory sexual assault and predatory sexual assault against a child would have faced a possible life term in state prison.
District Attorney Lawrence Friedman said Holmes said it was just "common sense" to enter the plea today.
Jury selection was to begin tomorrow in the trial of Holmes, who had not been scheduled to appear in County Court today until he decided to plea to the lesser included charge.
By pleading guilty, even as a second violent felony offender, Holmes reduces his possible life sentence to a maximum mandatory sentence of somewhere between seven and 15 years.
He will be sentenced at 9:30 a.m., May 30.
There are still four pending indictments against Holmes, with the most serious remaining charge being second-degree assault, a Class D violent felony.
"We will have to figure out later where we are going on the remaining cases," Friedman said.
