BRENTWOOD - A Chester man facing sex assault and gun charges may opt for a plea deal with county prosecutors instead of fighting the charges in two trials.

Lawyers for Gary Britton have been reviewing evidence in his pending cases and indicated to a judge recently they will explore resolving the case through a potential plea deal that would encompass all of his pending charges, according to court documents.

No trial date has been set in either of his two cases.

Britton, a convicted sex offender, was arrested by Chester police last Sept. 21 for failing to register with the state, but a search of his apartment and his home computer led him to be indicted for a series of sex assaults that began in 1991. He is currently serving a 12-month jail sentence for failing to register as a sex offender.

A grand jury indicted him in August on two counts of aggravated felonious sexual assault and two counts of felonious sexual assault. Prosecutors say Britton began sexually abusing a girl in 1991 when she was 9 years old. The abuse continued until 1995, indictments say.

If convicted at trial, Britton could face between 20 to 40 years in state prison on each of the sexual assault charges. Britton had been evicted from his apartment just before he was arrested on the failure to register charge, and his landlords came to police with claims that they found child pornography on his home computer, according to court records. Chester police were prompted to obtain a search warrant.

Chester police Chief William Burke found a handgun concealed in a plastic bag on top of a dresser mirror, according to a sworn affidavit. A search of Britton's computer led prosecutors to seek indictments in the sexual assault case, according to court records. Britton has not been charged with possession of child pornography,

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