Jamie Sames accepts plea deal

APPLETON - The Minnesota man who authorities say posed as a police officer and and lured a 13-year-old girl outside the Target store at the Fox River Mall in March has reached a plea agreement with prosecutors.

Jamie Sames, 36, pleaded no contest to two of the three charges he faced: child enticement with sexual contact and impersonating a police officer to commit a crime. The charge of second-degree sexual assault of a child was dismissed as part of the plea agreement. The plea means a trial, which had been scheduled for next week, is canceled.

Under the plea deal, Outagamie County District Attorney Carrie Schneider is recommending a prison sentence of five to eight years, followed by 10 to 12 years of supervision.

The charge of child enticement will require Sames to register as a sex offender, which Schneider says was important to the victim and her family.

"I'm not going to force a case to trial just to have a trial when I can balance it out and get a just decision and trust the court is going to do the right thing when it comes to sentencing," said Schneider. "You have to balance that with the stress of putting the victims through the hearings too. They're ready to have this resolved."

Judge John Des Jardins is not bound by the terms of the agreement. He could still sentence Sames to more than 30 years in prison. Sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 22.

Sames still faces child pornography charges in Minnesota, which could add time to his sentence. Sames' attorney declined comment after court.

Schneider says it is still to be determined whether Sames will serve his prison time in Minnesota or Wisconsin.

Cameron Clark will have more on this story on FOX 11 News at Five.