NW Mo. man pleads to rape, conspiracy

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (AP) - A 70-year-old northwest Missouri man has pleaded guilty to statutory rape and conspiracy to commit murder.

Doyle Brant appeared in Buchanan County court Friday and pleaded guilty to six felony charges involving statutory rape and conspiracy to commit murder.

The St. Joseph News-Press reports (http://bit.ly/HYY32A ) Brant, formerly of Agency, faces a up to 50 years in prison and a fine up $35,000. He has been in jail since February.

Brant was accused of trying to hire a jail inmate for $2,000 to kill a woman he was accused of having sex with when she was younger than 17.

Brant's daughter, Alesia Rivera, pleaded guilty in October to conspiracy commit murder and agreed to testify against her father. She'll be sentenced in December.