Retired Flint Sergeant Enters Plea In Child Sex Abuse Case

FLINT, Mich. (WWJ/AP) - A plea has been entered by a former Flint police sergeant charged with 16 counts of sexually assaulting children.

MLive.com reports Wednesday that Flint police said in a news release that Lawrence Woods pleaded guilty Tuesday to multiple counts of criminal sexual conduct.

Authorities say the assaults took place from 1996 until 1999. Some acts occurred at the police department and in police vehicles.

At the time of charges, Flint Sgt. Karl Petrich said child pornography, including hundreds of images of minors, was seized at homes where Woods has stayed.

Woods worked at the department in the 1990s and retired in 2002.

The police department began its investigation in 2014 after a victim came forward to report abuse that occurred years earlier. Other victims later contacted police.

Woods is scheduled to be sentenced on July 18.

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