BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — A former LaMoure police chief is awaiting sentencing on several child sex crimes in three southwestern North Dakota counties.

KXMB-TV reports 52-year-old James Watson entered an Alford plea Tuesday to multiple charges related to child sexual abuse in Hettinger and Stark counties. The plea is not an admission of guilt but acknowledges there is enough evidence for a conviction.

A jury in Golden Valley County last month convicted him of continuous sexual abuse of a child.

The charges date back to 2011.

Watson faces life in prison without parole. A sentencing date has not been set.