By NEAL WAGNER / Managing Editor

COLUMBIANA – A 43-year-old Montevallo man will spend the next few years in prison after he pleaded guilty in late August to sexually abusing an underage victim in Alabaster between 2012 and 2014.

James Michael Hooie, who lists an address on Highway 84 in Montevallo and previously listed an address in Alabaster, pleaded guilty to one count of first-degree sexual abuse during an Aug. 28 hearing in front of Shelby County Circuit Court Judge William Bostick.

Through a plea agreement, two other counts of first-degree sexual abuse were dropped against Hooie.

As a result of Hooie’s guilty plea, Bostick originally sentenced him to 10 years in prison, but split the sentence between two years in prison followed by two years of supervised probation. Hooie received 380 days of jail credit for time already served in the Shelby County Jail.

If Hooie violates the terms of his probation, his entire 10 year prison sentence could be reinstated.

According to court documents, prosecutors consulted with the victim and law enforcement before offering the plea agreement to Hooie, and they agreed with the offer.

A Shelby County grand jury in May 2016 returned a three-count indictment against Hooie, upholding the three felony counts of first-degree sexual abuse against him.

Hooie previously entered written pleas of not guilty and not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect to the three felony charges.

The Alabaster Police Department arrested Hooie on Dec. 14, 2014, and charged him with the three felony counts of first-degree sexual abuse.

The charges came after Hooie molested an underage female victim multiple times between 2012 and Dec. 11, 2014, according to his arrest warrants.