RANCHO CUCAMONGA -- A church choir director pleaded guilty Monday to charges that he committed lewd sexual acts with a 15-year-old choirgirl.
Mark William Michaels, 53, pleaded guilty in West Valley Superior Court to three counts of lewd or lascivious acts with a child of 14 or 15 years.
Michaels' pleas came as part of plea agreement with prosecutors that carries a prison sentence of four years and four months, and requires that Michaels register as a sex offender for life, according to a document in Michaels' court file that details the agreement.
Michaels is scheduled to be sentenced Aug. 25.
Michaels was arrested June 4 after a Montclair police officer saw him allegedly committing lewd acts with the girl in a car parked in an alley behind businesses in the 10200 block of Central Avenue.
Michaels and the girl were both parishioners at Bethany Baptist Church, 9950 Monte Vista Ave. in Montclair. They met two years ago, police said.
Prosecutors initially charged Michaels, of Upland, with nine felonies, but as part of the plea agreement they agreed to drop all counts besides the ones to which Michaels pleaded guilty.
Michaels remained jailed today in lieu of $250,000 bail at West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga.