A Stroudsburg man, who was to go on trial Monday on sexual assault charges in Carbon County court, changed his mind and entered guilty pleas in the case.

Scott Lakatos, 58, pleaded guilty to felony 3 counts of unlawful contact/communication with a minor-sexual offenses and corruption of minors-defendant age 18 or above.

In exchange for the pleas, the district attorney’s office dropped felony one counts of rape of a child and involuntary deviate sexual intercourse; and felony two counts of sexual assault, aggravated indecent assault without consent and aggravated indecent assault - forcible compulsion; and two misdemeanor counts of indecent assault and indecent assault without consent.

Lakatos lived in Palmerton when he was arrested but then moved to Stroudsburg.

A jury was picked to hear the case on Sept. 12 and reported Monday to begin hearing the testimony. After a delay from the scheduled 9 a.m. start, President Judge Roger N. Nanovic II told the jury panel there were several legal motions/matters he had to hold a hearing on which could take some hours. He apologized to the jury for the delay and said they were dismissed for the day and would return Tuesday at 9 a.m. to start the trial.

Later Monday morning, after ruling on some of the motions, Lakatos and the commonwealth entered into an agreement for a guilty plea.

Nanovic deferred sentencing since the charges fall under the provisions of Megan’s Law, which means Lakatos must be evaluated by the state sexual offenders assessment board to determine if he is a violent sexual offender.

Sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 6 at 11 a.m.

Lakatos was charged in August 2021 after an investigation by the Palmerton Police Department determined he sexually assaulted a 17-year-old boy from May through July of 2021.

Assistant District Attorney Brian B. Gazo is the prosecutor in the case, and Lakatos is represented by Attorney Eric Wiltrout of the public defenders office.