PIKEVILLE, Ky. — Eighteen months after first being charged in a federal child porn case, a Pike County man has indicated he now wishes to plead guilty.

Robert Preston, 39, of Shelbiana, asked the court Friday for permission to change his plea, saying he had reached a plea agreement with prosecutors. That request was approved Monday, but a hearing date has not yet been set.

Preston was arrested in October 2020 on a charge of child production, over allegations he coerced a minor to engage in and record sexually explicit conduct over a period of 11 months in 2016 and 2017. He was later charged with having child pornography of a minor younger than 12 in his possession. After that, he was also charged with cyberstalking for allegedly intimidating an unidentified person over Snapchat.

Of the charges, child porn production is the most serious, carrying a sentence of between 15 and 30 years in prison.