Former Michigan Banker Pleads Guilty In Molestation Case

SOUTH BEND, IN (AP) -A former Michigan bank president accused of molesting a 6-year-old girl has pleaded guilty in a deal that could eventually clear him of felony charges and keep him off Indiana's sex offender registry.

St. Joseph County (Indiana) prosecutors charged 43-year-old William C. Peterson with felony child molesting. The South Bend Tribune says authorities accuse the 43-year-old Granger resident of fondling the sleeping girl in May 2008.

The St. Joseph, Michigan - based Edgewater Bank fired him soon after he was charged.

Peterson's  trial was to start Friday. Under Tuesday's deal, he'll be sentenced in 2014 on misdemeanor battery charges and will be cleared of felony penalties if he sticks to court-ordered terms.

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