Sex offender makes deal

A convicted sex offender scheduled for a jury trial Tuesday on two felony charges from an alleged sexual assault has instead agreed to a plea deal reducing the charges to a single misdemeanor, his attorney said.

Joshua J. Okupniak, 29, had faced up to 30 years in prison if convicted on felony counts of second-degree sexual assault and intimidation of a victim. Under the agreement, the first count was amended to fourth-degree sexual assault — with a maximum jail term of nine months — and the second count was dismissed, said attorney Barbara Kirchner.

The lesser charge is accompanied by a change in the criminal complaint's allegation that Okupniak raped a 25-year-old pregnant woman on the city's south side in September. Kirchner said Okunpiak acknowledges forcing the woman to have oral sex but that other sexual activity was consensual.

Under the plea agreement, Okupniak will plead no contest to the misdemeanor, and prosecutors will recommend a maximum of two years probation with a 90-day jail term stayed, Kirchner said.

Okupniak's bond was lowered from $75,000 to $200. He will be sentenced Dec. 26 by Judge Gary Langhoff.

Okupniak was convicted in 1997 of second-degree sexual assault of a child and sentenced to three years in prison and 10 years probation, online court records show.