Prosecutors cut a plea deal with a former Hawaii police officer that will allow him to serve probation instead of jail time for assaulting a 5-year-old girl for years.
According to the Associated Press, Teddy O. Van Lerberghe, 45, has reached an agreement that guarantees him a five-year probation sentence.
In 2017, a grand jury indicted him on seven counts of sexual assault of the young girl. According to CBS affiliate Hawaii News Now, the assaults happened from 2004 to 2008.
The AP reports four of those charges were Class A felonies that carry mandatory 20-year prison terms for people who are convicted. Van Lerberghe originally pleaded guilty but changed his plea to "no contest" after prosecutors offered a deal to reduce the charges.
Hawaii News Now says he will be required to register as a convicted sex offender.
Van Lerberghe served with the Honolulu Police Department from 2007 until his firing in 2016.
Prosecutors won't comment until after Van Lerberghe's formal sentencing in August, according to the AP.
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