A Cassville man charged with multiple felonies related to child sex crimes has pleaded guilty to two Class E felonies and is set to be sentenced on Oct. 3.

Berlan Crouch, 74, of Cassville, was charged with two counts of sodomy and two counts of incest. On Thursday, the day his jury trial was set to begin, Crouch pleaded guilty to the two counts of incest. The remaining charges were dropped.

Crouch, who lived in rural Monett at the time, was arrested in September 2020 by the Barry County Sheriff’s Office after investigation revealed Crouch engaged in inappropriate touching and sexual acts with two victims on numerous occasions from 2018-2020, at times in exchange for rewards.

The original probable cause statement also requested charges of one count of first-degree rape, two counts of abuse or neglect of a child and one count of enticement or attempted enticement of a child.

Crouch’s $100,000 cash-only bond was reduced to $30,000 in cash, 10% or surety, and he was released in October 2020. The bond filing noted it was amended by request of the victims.

The bond order required Crouch to stay 10 feet away from the victims and required electronic monitoring and no contact with and persons under 18 years old. An order of protection in place at that time carries more stringent no-contact rules regarding the victims.

Crouch’s case received a change of venue to Lawrence County in July 2022. A jury trial was scheduled to begin on Thursday, but it was stricken in light of the plea.

Crouch is to be sentenced by Associate Circuit Judge Matthew Kasper at 9 a.m. on Oct. 3 for the two Class E felonies, which carry up to 4 years in prison and fines of up to $10,000 for each charge.