A former Lawrence group-home worker pleaded guilty Thursday to abusing a mentally disabled client.

Eric S. Wyatt, 35, of Lawrence, pleaded guilty to three counts of mistreatment of a dependent adult, just days before he was scheduled to begin trial in Douglas County District Court. He had been charged with five counts of mistreating the 57-year-old man last year at Ponderosa House, 1205 E. 26th St., a group home operated by Community Living Opportunities.

Wyatt is scheduled to be sentenced Oct. 6.

In a written statement to investigators, Wyatt confessed to having grabbed the victim “in an aggressive manner and pinched his cheeks shut.”

He also wrote that he beat the victim with the heel of his shoe.

“I have no excuse for my actions other than poor judgment while being impaired by emotion and extreme frustration,” he wrote.

Wyatt was fired in July 2005 after an internal investigation.