A former police officer and dog warden waited until time for his trial to start before pleading guilty to the charges against him.

Christopher Luke Prince, 27, of 1811 Echo Drive, pleaded guilty to a charge of rape Monday morning in Lawrence County Common Pleas Court before judge Frank McCown.

McCown set a sentencing date for Nov. 24 and ordered a pre-sentence investigation.

Prince was arrested in April after the mother of an 8-year-old girl told Ironton police Prince had assaulted her daughter.

Prince was the Ironton dog warden at the time of his arrest. Prior to that, he had been a police officer for the villages of Hanging Rock and Coal Grove.