A Lynchburg man who had been accused of raping a 9-year-old girl will spend nearly five years in prison after pleading guilty to taking indecent liberties with a child.

Brian Keith Wilson, 29, pleaded guilty Friday in Bedford County Circuit Court. He had been scheduled to stand trial today on charges of rape, aggravated sexual battery and two counts of forcible sodomy.

A grand jury indicted Wilson in March. According to authorities, the accusations against him came to light after a woman walked in on Wilson and the girl immediately after an apparent assault in Wilson's house.

Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Wes Nance said Wilson pleaded guilty to three counts of taking indecent liberties with a child as part of a plea agreement under which he will serve four years and nine months in prison on one of the counts. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison on the two other counts, but all 20 years were suspended.

Wilson is currently being held in the Lynchburg Regional Jail, awaiting transfer to a state prison.

Nance said he agreed to the plea partly because there were questions about how the girl would hold up at trial. Nance said the girl and her family supported accepting the plea from Wilson.

After his prison sentence, Wilson will remain on supervised probation for five years. He will also be permanently placed on Virginia's sex offender registry.

-- Rex Bowman