EMPORIUM (EC) — A trial scheduled for a Cameron County man on charges including statutory sexual assault will not be held following a plea hearing on Monday.
A hearing for Matthew Scott Kriner, 26, of Emporium, was postponed because the Deputy Attorney General assigned by the state to prosecute the case was unavailable. The jury call hearing, originally scheduled for Nov. 16, was rescheduled for 1:30 p.m. Monday.
Court staff said Kriner entered an open guilty plea to one or more of the charges he faces. An open guilty plea means that no sentencing recommendations were negotiated with the prosecution, and the judge will have sole discretion in sentencing the defendant.
Jury selection was scheduled to take place today, but prospective jurors were called and dismissed from duty following the hearing.
Kriner faces felony counts of involuntary deviant sexual intercourse with a person less than 16 years of age, unlawful contact with a minor-sexual offenses, statutory sexual assault by a person 8 to 11 years older than the victim, aggravated indecent assault and corruption of minors, and a related misdemeanor.
Charges stem from an incident alleged to have occurred in July of 2015, wherein Kriner and a juvenile female were inside a parked vehicle, according to court records.
