BRENTWOOD — A Chester man accused of failing to register as a sex offender backed out of a plea deal on Tuesday.

Gary Britton, 59, decided against entering a guilty plea on a duty to report charge for allegedly failing to re-register last September.

The plea was expected to resolve one of three cases Britton now has pending in Rockingham County Superior Court.

Had he gone forward with the plea, prosecutors were willing to recommend a 12 month jail sentence in the case, court documents say.

Britton faces charges of aggravated felonious sexual assault and being a felon in possession of a weapon.

Judge N. William Delker ordered on Tuesday that Britton’s case on the failure-to-report charge be scheduled for trial.

Britton’s arrest on that charge resulted in a wider investigation by Chester police, which led to weapons and sexual assault charges.

Police say evidence found on Britton’s home computer led them to charging him with sexually assaulting a young girl in the 1990s.

Police searched Britton’s apartment shortly after his arrest in Sept. 22 and reported finding a variety of sexual paraphernalia and a handgun. Police obtained a search warrant to look for child pornography as Britton was in the process of being evicted from his apartment.

Britton’s landlords had turned on his computer while going through his things, found child pornography and called police, according to court testimony.

During the apartment search, Chester police Chief William Burke found a firearm in a sealed plastic zipper bag during the search when he ran his hand across top of a bureau mirror.

Delker recently decided the weapon could be used as evidence against Britton for being a felon in possession of weapon.

Britton has yet to be indicted in the sexual assault case. Court documents also say Britton’s computer is being forensically examined for child pornography, but he has not been charged with having any.

Before his latest arrest, Britton was convicted in 1983 of aggravated felonious sexual assault involving a victim under 13 years old and has a history of failing to register with the state.

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James A. Kimble may be reached at JKimble@newstote.com.