photo by: Kim Callahan/Journal-World

Jose Garcia Melgarejo appears in Douglas County District Court with his attorney Veronica Dersch on Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024.

A Lenexa man was convicted Monday in Douglas County District Court of one count of aggravated sexual battery for an incident that occurred three years ago in southeastern Lawrence.

Jose Garcia Melgarejo, 41, pleaded guilty to the felony in a deal with the state, which had originally charged him with the more serious crime of aggravated criminal sodomy. The plea deal was reached with input and support from the victim, Assistant District Attorney Samantha Foster told the court.

Foster said that if the case had gone to trial the evidence would have shown that Garcia Melgarejo and a woman went to Prairie Park Nature Center on Oct. 7, 2021, and that Garcia Melgarejo sexually touched the woman without her consent “while she was overcome by force or fear.”

Judge Stacey Donovan will sentence Garcia Melgarejo on Dec. 6. With his apparent lack of criminal history, he could face probation or prison time for the midlevel felony, depending on the results of a presentence investigation.

The parties — including the victim, according to the state — have agreed that a community treatment option is available that would promote the defendant’s rehabilitation and reduce the likelihood of recidivism.

Garcia Melgarejo will have to register as an offender for 25 years.