Phillips, 20, pleads to attempted rape

A 19-year-old who had sexual relations with a 12-year-old girl at a party last year will serve three years behind bars and spend a decade on probation.

The defendant, Eric Phillips, now 20, entered a plea this week before Circuit Court Judge Bart Stanley to the reduced charge of attempted rape. He was originally charged with child rape which carries 15 to 25 years. The child rape statute applies when an adult has sexual relations with a person under the age of 13, whether the contact is consensual or not.

Phillips was ordered to serve three years of a 10-year sentence, with the balance to be served on probation after service of his prison time on the charge of attempted rape and second-offense DUI. On the sex charge, Phillips will also have to register himself with the state sexual offender registry which keeps track of convicted sex offenders. He will also not allowed to have contact with the victim.

In connection with the drunk driving charge, Phillips will lose his driver?s license for two years, pay $600 plus costs, and perform 30 hours public service work.

The charges came after Phillips and the girl engaged in what lawmen term consensual sex during a gathering at a mutual friend?s home in February, 2005. The girl reportedly began feeling bad about the situation days later and came forward with the allegation. Phillips denied the claim when confronted by lawmen.

According to District Attorney General Dale Potter, the plea to the lesser charge was agreed to due to a pair of considerations. First, the victim did not want to go through with a trial in which the specific facts of the case would be up for debate and heard in an open courtroom.

Second, the girl was nearly 13 at the time of the crime. With the plea, Phillips will serve prison time and be tracked by the sexual offender registry for the rest of his life, even after his 10 years on probation.