Although he

missed his first two scheduled trials, a local man accused of child molestation

didn't have any trouble making the third trial date.

At the last

minute, Farrell Lloyd Pitts avoided a trial by pleading guilty to child

molestation Monday. The charges stemmed from reports that he molested

a 6-year-old boy in April of 1998.

Pitts was sentenced

Monday to four years in prison followed by six years probation by Superior

Court Judge Christopher Edwards. In addition to the prison sentence, Pitts

will be required to register as a sex offender and have no contact with

any minors while he is on probation.

In exchange

for the guilty plea, prosecutors dropped two related charges against Pitts:

aggravated sodomy and enticing a child for indecent purposes.

Pitts avoided

two previously scheduled trials when he was hospitalized both times for

heart trouble. After the last trial was postponed, Edwards ordered defense

attorneys to prepare an electronic system that would allow Pitts to observe

the trial and communicate with his attorneys even if he was hospitalized.