ST. CLAIRSVILLE — A Shadyside man could spend his life behind bars after he pleaded guilty to committing sex crimes against a child on Monday.

Gregory Allen Holcomb, 30, of 62003 Rolling Hills Lane, entered a guilty plea in Belmont County Common Pleas Court to one count of first-degree felony rape of child under 13 and two counts of second-degree felony pandering sexually-oriented material involving a minor. Prosecutor Kevin Flanagan said the pandering charges were filed in connection with photographs found on Holcomb’s phone during the investigation.

He confirmed that the case centered around a single juvenile victim.

Holcomb was initially booked into the Belmont County Jail on April 28, 2023. Flanagan said the defense filed for a competency evaluation of Holcomb, which delayed the court proceedings in the case. Holcomb had been scheduled for a trial that was set to begin today, but he instead entered the plea on Monday. The trial was subsequently canceled and Holcomb’s sentencing hearing was set for 1 p.m. May 28 by Judge John Vavra.

Flanagan said the rape of a child under 13 carries an enhanced penalty that will include the possibility of life in prison. He intends to request a sentence of 20 years to life, while he expects defense attorney Ed Gilleson to seek a sentence of 10 years to life. The 10- or 20-year mark, depending on the actual sentence that is handed down, would be the threshold at which Holcomb could become eligible for parole.

The maximum possible sentence for the rape charge had been life in prison without the possibility of parole prior to the completion of the plea agreement. Vavra during a previous proceeding had explained that was the case “because the alleged victim is allegedly less than 10 years old.”

“At the sentencing hearing, we will present all of our reasons why we feel the judge should impose 20 years to life,” Flanagan noted.

And while sentencing has yet to be determined, Flanagan feels that justice has been served thus far.

“We are extremely pleased with the plea,” he said. “We feel that the investigators put together a very good case and a case that essentially left the defendant very little choice. We are only as good as the cases our investigators present to us. In this case, we had both federal and state authorities working together.”

Holcomb was arrested in early May 2023 when the Belmont County Sheriff’s Criminal Investigative Unit, in conjunction with Homeland Security Investigations, served a search warrant at Holcomb’s residence. The officers were acting on a cyber tip received by HSI on suspicion that Holcomb was viewing and/or sharing child pornography. Flanagan had said there was also involvement by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Further investigation resulted in the additional rape charge.

In the interest of protecting the alleged victim’s identity, specific information about the child’s age or where the alleged rape occurred was not released. Flanagan has said it occurred in Belmont County prior to April 2023.