PRINCETON, W.Va. — A former youth minister pleaded guilty Wednesday in Mercer County Circuit Court to three counts of first degree sexual abuse as part of a plea bargain agreement with prosecutors.
James Lilly, 24, was charged with a total of 33 criminal counts when he was arrested last January. The plea dropped all but three counts.
Lilly’s victim was a young girl who was abused over a six-year period, investigators said. The abuse did not happen at a church.
Lilly will be sentenced later this year.