A Gardnerville man accused of the statutory rape of a 14-year-old girl pleaded guilty to statutory sexual seduction on Tuesday.
"I had sex with a minor under the age of 16 in a Gardnerville apartment," 19-year-old Zachary Applewhite told District Judge Dave Gamble on Tuesday.
Applewhite's age was a factor in his being charged with a gross misdemeanor. Gamble could sentence him to up to a year in Douglas County Jail and a $2,000 fine.
Gamble set sentencing for Sept. 16 in the case.
According to court documents, the girl was assaulted at a party on Nov. 7.
A former church van driver, Richard Jacobsen, was sentenced to six months in jail in April for contributing to the delinquency of a minor by serving the girl liquor.
The party was at Jacobsen's apartment, and the girl had looked on him as a mentor.
At Jacobsen's sentencing, the victim's mother said that after her daughter was assaulted, she was dumped unconscious by the side of the road in freezing weather, where she awoke and made her way to a Laundromat where she passed out.
Her mother said the girl had to undergo a rape exam, take a double dose of the morning after pill and two antibiotics.
Had Applewhite been over the age of 21, he would have faced a felony charge.
