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Plea deal reached for fugitive who hid in bunker

STEVENS POINT, Wis. (AP) — Attorneys have reached a plea deal for a former Wisconsin fugitive who hid out in a makeshift bunker for more than three years.

Forty-four-year-old Jeremiah Button was discovered in August living in a bunker powered by solar panels and a pedal generator. Button disappeared in February 2016 just weeks before he was scheduled to stand trial on child sexual assault and child pornography charges.

The Stevens Point Journal reports a judge scheduled a plea hearing for Button for Friday.

Portage County District Attorney Louis Molepske earlier amended the charges from the original four to 15. A jury trial is scheduled next week.

Button’s public defender, Jessica Phelps, did not immediately return a request for comment Thursday. But court records state Phelps withdrew her objection to the final agreement.

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