Christian counselor pleads guilty to sexual assault in Dalton, Georgia | Times Free Press

Daniel Staats, the Dalton, Ga., Christian counselor accused of sexually assaulting a client, pleaded guilty Tuesday.

Staats, who ran Helping the Hurting and filled in as a guest pastor in a local church, was accused of fondling a client's breast, exposing himself and receiving oral sex during a July 2017 visit, according to a Dalton police report. He was arrested in December, and a grand jury indicted him on four counts of sexual assault by a psychotherapist in February.

Conasauga Judicial Circuit District Attorney Bert Poston said Staats pleaded guilty to one of those counts, receiving a 20-year sentence. He will serve two of those years behind bars and be on probation for the rest. He also must register as a sex offender, and Poston said he can no longer work as a counselor.

After Staats' arrest in December, other women came forward to the police department and accused him of acting inappropriately. But, police spokesman Bruce Frazier said earlier this year, the offenses most of the women described were not crimes.

Christian counselor pleads guilty to sexual assault in Dalton, Georgia | Times Free Press