An Auburn man plead guilty to four counts of sexual abuse against a child on Thursday in Logan County Circuit Court.

Erskine E. Shrum, 63 of Rogers Drive in Auburn, now faces a sentence of 15 years as part of the plea deal reached with Commonwealth Attorney Gail Guiling.

He must serve at least 85 percent of that sentence before being eligible for parole – which would be nearly 13 years.

Shrum plead guilty to two counts of first degree sodomy and two counts of first degree sexual abuse with a victim under 12-year-old.

Shrum was first set to take the deal last week, but balked when asked to plead to the charges of sexual abuse with a victim under 12. He did not admit to knowing his victim was under 12 at the time the incident took place.

On Thursday, however, Shrum said the victim was “between the ages of 8 and 12” when he abused her. He also went on to describe the manner in which the sexual abuse took place.

At one point while being questioned by Circuit Judge Tyler Gill, Shrum said that he “Thinks back to the past and cries a lot.”

Shrum was scheduled to go to trial on Monday, but the plea agreement eliminates the need for a trial by jury.

He will have a final sentencing hearing on March 24th in circuit court.

In the meantime, he will undergo sex offender risk assessment. At the hearing and after hearing the results of the assessment, Gill will have the final say in how long Shrum will go away for.

While in prison, Shrum will have to undergo sex offender treatment.

Upon his release, Shrum will also have to register as a sex offender and will be kept on the list for at least 20 years.

Shrum was originally indicted in September on 21 different counts of sex crimes against a child.

According to the indictment, the abuse happened on or between January 1, 2007 and July 9, 2010.

Shrum was indicted on 10 counts of first degree sodomy with a victim under 12 for “engaging in deviate sexual intercourse” with a person under the age of 12.

He was also indicted on 10 counts of first degree sexual abuse with a victim under 12 for “subjecting another person to sexual contact who was incapable of consent because the victim was less than 12 years old.”