Plea agreement reached in sexual assault allegation

McCOOK, Nebraska -- A Rapid City, South Dakota, woman was sentenced to 12 months probation, Monday in Red Willow County District Court, after she accepted a plea agreement that admitted guilt to a misdemeanor offense of contributing to the delinquency of a minor. The woman, 23-year-old Heather J. Geary, was originally charged with a Class IIIA felony of third degree sexual assault.

The plea agreement, offered by Red Willow County Attorney Paul Wood, reduced the original felony charge to a Class I misdemeanor and also agreed the state would not seek any finding under the sex offenders registration act.

Geary's original offense stemmed from a October 2010 incident in Red Willow County during which she was accused of having sexual contact with a victim who was 14 years of age or younger, when she was at least 19 years of age.

Geary was assigned a public defender in October 2011 and subsequently failed to appear for hearings in the case in November 2011 and January 2012.

She pleaded not guilty to the sexual assault charge in April before accepting the plea agreement offered in May and subsequently being sentenced to probation last week.