Poser Player Now Prison-Bound

ODESSA, Texas (AP) _ The man who posed as a teenager to play high school basketball in West Texas has been sentenced to three years in prison after reaching a plea deal.

Prosecutors said Wednesday that 23-year-old Guerdwich Montimere pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual assault and three counts of tampering with government records.

Montimere, whose trial was to begin next week in Odessa, had faced up to 20 years in prison.

The naturalized U.S. citizen from Haiti came to Odessa as a ninth-grader. Playing as 15-year-old Jerry Joseph, Montimere was 21 when he played one season at Odessa Permian High and helped lead the Panthers to the state playoffs.

Suspicions were raised after coaches at a basketball tournament said they recognized Joseph as Montimere, a 2007 graduate of a Florida high school.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)

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