LISBON, Ohio - A 64-year-old East Palestine man who is already in prison after being caught in an undercover sex sting has pleaded guilty to one of two charges filed for alleged sex crimes against a child dating back to the late 1990s.

During a hearing on Tuesday in Columbiana County Common Pleas Court, James Browne pleaded guilty to gross sexual imposition.   Browne had been indicted on charges of rape as well for sex offenses allegedly committed in 1996.

According to the indictment, between October 1996 and December 1998, Browne had inappropriate sexual contact when the alleged victim was between the ages of four and six.

In addition to sentencing Browne to five years probation after he completes his current sentence a year from now, Judge Megan Bickerton also moved Browne from a Tier One Sex Offender classification to a higher Tier Two classification.  

As a Tier Two offender, Browne will have to register his address with authorities every six months for the next 25 years.

Browne's earlier conviction was handed down in 2022 when he was sentenced to three years in prison after being caught in an undercover sex sting in which an officer was posing as a 12-year-old girl.