JEFFERSON COUNTY — A 56-year-old Mt. Vernon man entered an open plea of guilty Wednesday in Jefferson County Court to sexually abusing a child in exchange for 10 counts of possessing child pornography being dismissed.

Darren Meyer is scheduled to be sentenced on July 18 on the Class 2 felony offense with the agreement capping any potential sentence at 30 years.

Meyer was arrested last summer after Jefferson County Sheriff’s deputies responded to a report of a disturbance at his address and someone wielding a knife.

Detectives were already investigating an earlier report indicating a 14-year-old girl was possibly the victim of voyeurism. That investigation later led to detectives believing the girl was also the victim of sexual abuse.

Meyer was ultimately arrested in the case and was formally charged with Class 2 felony aggravated criminal sexual abuse of a victim under the age of 13, along with 10 Class 2 felony counts of child pornography.

At that time Judge Jo Beth Weber set bond in the case at $500,000 and Meyer has remained in custody since his arrest.