Man pleads guilty in 2 cases involving sex with minors

WATERTOWN, New York (WWNY) - A man who was arrested in December for sexually abusing a child — and then charged in February in a state police sting operation — pleaded guilty to three charges Monday.

According to Jefferson County District Attorney Kristyna Mills, 51-year-old David Eads of Brownville pleaded guilty in county court to two counts of first-degree criminal sex act and one count of second-degree attempted rape.

Eads was charged in December with predatory sexual assault against a child and endangering the welfare of a child for sexually abusing a girl from when she was 8 in 2015 through 2022, when she was 15.

In February, Eads was one of 10 men arrested in a sting operation where they thought they were meeting up with 13- and 14-year-old girls. Instead, they were corresponding with— mostly via text —state troopers pretending to be teens.

The criminal sex act charges cover the December arrest, and the attempted rape charge covers his February arrest.

Mills said Eads is expected to receive a 13-year sentence and 20 years of post-release supervision when he’s sentenced on May 31. He will also have to register as a sex offender.