Joseph Heidrick, 26, of Parma, reached a plea deal March 24 regarding charges stemming from his Jan. 12 arrest for soliciting sexual acts from underage girls. Heidrick, a former Kent State student, would solicit the girls as they walked home from school in Ravenna.

In the deal, Portage County Common Pleas Judge John Enlow dismissed four of Heidrick’s eight charges, assistant prosecutor Steve Michniak said. Heidrick plead guilty to three counts of importuning and one count of public indecency, Michniak said.

Police are holding Heidrick while the adult probation department conducts an investigation.

“The court wants to learn the history of the individual before the sentence is passed,” said Lt. Ray Stein, of the Kent Police Department. Stein said the investigation inludes a thorough background check. The department will report the findings to the judge upon completion of the probe.

Stein said the adult probation department seeks to complete the investigation quickly when criminals are held in jail, but Michniak said the process could take up to three months.

– Erin Roof