ESCANABA - An Escanaba man will be sentenced on a sexual assault charge in May, according to Delta County Circuit Court officials who accepted his plea and cancelled a trial scheduled for later this month.
Matthew Fillip Moats, 22, homeless, was scheduled for a three-day trial on one count of third-degree criminal sexual conduct by force or coercion. On Tuesday afternoon, he entered a guilty plea to a lesser count of second-degree criminal sexual conduct.
Moats is scheduled to be sentenced on the five-year felony on May 9 in circuit court. The charge stems from an incident in December 2010, when Moats sexually assaulted a 15-year-old girl in Escanaba.
Moats was originally charged in 2011 for third-degree rape. An insanity motion delayed the case from being bound over to circuit court. When he was found competent to stand trial, the case was sent to the higher court.
He was scheduled for a trial in February, but that was later postponed to the end of April. Tuesday's guilty plea cancelled the trial proceedings.
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Jenny Lancour, (906) 786-2021, ext. 143, jlancour@dailypress.net