Edwin Mercado Viera pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and now faces between three to eight years in prison. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 21.
The 53-year-old was a popular figure in the Diocese of Arecibo before he was accused of fondling the genitals of a 13-year-old altar boy in 2007.
Prosecutors were preparing to select the jury when Mercado entered his plea yesterday. He was one of six defrocked priests from the Arecibo parish.
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