A 22-year-old Butler man pleaded guilty to sexually abusing a 4-year-old boy so severely that the child died.

In a plea bargain, Keith Jordan Lambing pleaded guilty to third-degree murder, aggravated assault and child endangerment in the 2017 case. The plea agreement calls for a sentence of 30 to 60 years.

He originally was charged with first-degree murder — with a life sentence if convicted — on charges of child rape and seven related charges. Those charges were dismissed when his plea bargain was accepted Monday.

According to state records, Lambing was scheduled to go to trial in early January.

Lambing’s attorney, Charles Michael Nedz, didn’t return calls for comment.

Assistant District Attorney Terri M. Schultz said Monday the plea bargain was approved by the victim’s family to get the “graphic story” out of public discussion.

The family doesn’t want to see the story again rehashed in the media, she said.

The boy’s family and Lambing’s relatives were present to hear the plea, Schultz said.

Lambing’s sentencing is scheduled for January.

According to court records, the dead boy’s mother, Mackenzie Paige Peters, 24, was sentenced to three years of probation in the case. She had been Lambing’s girlfriend.

Schultz said Peters is in prison serving a sentence for an unrelated crime.

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