A Carter County man pleaded guilty as charged Monday to eight sexual-related felonies stemming from his abuse of multiple children.
Johnny L. Hardwick entered his plea the day before jury selection was supposed to begin in his trial before Presiding Circuit Judge Michael Pritchett in Butler County.
The 44-year-old Fremont man, according to court officials, pleaded guilty to four unclassified felonies of first-degree statutory sodomy, the unclassified felony of first-degree statutory rape, the Class D felony of incest, the Class C felony of second-degree statutory sodomy and the unclassified felony of first-degree attempted statutory rape.
Hardwick was charged with sexually abusing three female victims between 1999 and 2009.
At the time the charges were filed against Hardwick in May 2015, Carter County Sheriff Rick Stephens indicated the girls were "predominately" between the ages of 7 and 10 at the time of the alleged abuse and were then in their late teens and early 20s.
As part of reported negotiations between Hardwick's attorney and the state, which was represented by the Missouri Attorney General's Office, Hardwick agreed to plead guilty, and the state recommended he be sentenced to six 20-year terms in the Missouri Department of Corrections on the three felonies of first-degree statutory sodomy and the felonies of first-degree statutory rape, incest and attempted first-degree statutory rape.
It also was recommended that Hardwick be sentenced to seven years in prison on the felony of second-degree statutory sodomy and four years on the felony of first-degree statutory sodomy.
Pritchett reportedly followed that recommendation in sentencing Hardwick and ordered the man's sentences be served concurrently.
Had Hardwick gone to trial, the jury would have heard testimony regarding an investigation by the Carter County Sheriff's Department.
Hardwick's arrest came as the rest of a result of a 2 1/2-month investigation into multiple allegations of sexual assaults against children, Stephens earlier said.
It was during the investigation of a "totally non-related case" that the allegations came to light, Stephens said.
"During an informal victim's interview, an allegation stemming from between 2006 and 2007 came out regarding (Hardwick)," Stephens said. "That spurred another investigation, and as we investigated the claims, we found multiple potential victims."
After his hearing, Hardwick was booked into the Butler County jail awaiting transport to the Missouri Department of Corrections.