The man whom many knew as the local storyteller “Carpathian” has pleaded no contest to sexually abusing a child and is facing up to 16 years in prison, according to the Times-Standard.

The paper reports that John Beideman, who worked as a Humboldt Superior Court records clerk, is set to be sentenced Dec. 14. The plea, which comes with a minimum potential sentence of six years, was reached as a jury for his trial was in the process of being selected.