DARLINGTON — A Darlington teenager pleaded guilty in Lafayette County Circuit Court last week to amended charges in a sexual assault case involving another teen.

Edwin Geovanni Ramos-Castaneada, 17, pleaded guilty June 28 to misdemeanor charges of disorderly conduct and fourth-degree sexual assault, downgraded from the initially filed felony charges of second-degree sexual assault of a child.

He was granted a one-year deferred prosecution. If he complies with the conditions of the agreement, such as no further violations of the law, the convictions will be dropped from his record.

According to the criminal complaint, he contacted a younger teen via her school email in October, telling her he wanted to kiss her and that he loved her. They made plans to meet.

About two weeks before Thanksgiving, Ramos-Castaneada picked her up at her house and drove her to a cornfield off County K near Darlington. He then reportedly sexually assaulted her in the back of his car.

He admitted to an investigator that he had sex with the girl but said he stopped midway because he “started to think that he would get into trouble for having sex” with her. At the time of the incident, he was 16 years old.

District Attorney Jenna Gill explained that the law had changed since the crime was committed and that the misdemeanors were more appropriate considering the details of the case and the closeness in age between Ramos-Casteneada and the girl.

It was a consensual encounter with an absence of force, Gill said.

Defense attorney Kevin Boyle said he will be working with Ramos-Castaneada to help him get counseling, take classes to complete his high school education and obey the conditions of his deferred prosecution agreement.

Ramos-Castaneada is back in court Sept. 27 for a criminal traffic misdemeanor of driving without a valid license. When he drove the girl into the field to have sex, he had not yet obtained his driver’s license or finished driver’s ed, according to court records.