A Chadron man arrested last May on 12 child molestation and child pornography charges in a joint Chadron-Rapid City investigation has accepted a plea bargain with reduced charges

30-year old James Savery was scheduled for an evidentiary hearing Monday morning in Dawes County District Court, but instead entered No Contest pleas to 2 counts of 1st-degree attempted sexual assault of a child and one count of sexually explicit materials in the presence of a minor.

District Judge Travis O’Gorman ordered a pre-sentence investigation and set sentencing on the 3 felony counts for March 19th.

Savery was originally charged with 8 counts of 1st-degree sexual assault of a child and 4 counts of possession of child pornography, but half the sexual assault and all the pornography charges were later dropped.

He waived a preliminary hearing last summer and was scheduled for trial in September, but proceedings were postponed three times before Monday.

Savery was arrested at his home last May 17 after a Rapid City police detective had contacted Chadron police about a Chadron man suspected of trafficking in online child pornography. A Chadron investigation resulted in search warrants for Savery’s home in north Chadron.

Items seized during the searches included computers, cell phones, data recording and storage devices, other electronic devices, a couch, and multiple CD’s.