A Cleveland priest pleaded guilty Friday morning for soliciting sex from a Metroparks ranger.

Rev. James McGonegal of St. Ignatius of Antioch Church,  reached a plea bargain with prosecutors after he solicited sex in October from an undercover agent at Edgewater Park, without disclosing that he was HIV positive..

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McGonegal, 69, who was charged with felony, substance abuse and public indecency, will have to undergo an intervention program.

The plea bargain agreement entailed that the reverend will avoid felony charges if he underwent and completed the intervention program.

After the successful completion of the program, his record will be erased and the case dismissed.

The stipulations of the plea also stated that McGonegal will have to stay away from any Cleveland parks.

In addition, the reverend will have to complete 50 hours of community service and he will have to continue with an out-patient treatment program that he entered at a Maryland residential facility for priests.

McGonegal's lawyer, Henry Hilow told reporters that with the exception of the incident, the reverend has lived an exemplary life, adding it was good that the matter can finally be resolved.

"We're glad that this chapter of his life is concluded," Hilow said.

However, if McGonegal will not be able to complete the provisions of the plea bargain, he will face a three-year imprisonment sentence, according to Judge Stuart Friedman of the Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court.

Sex solicitation used to be a misdemeanor charge, but a state law passed in 1996 elevated it to a felony offense if the solicitor who was HIV positive does not inform his partner of this.

According to Friedman, the amended state law as an "overreaction, and a hysterical reaction" to the AIDS crisis nearly two centuries ago.

Other than the state of Ohio, there are also 34 different states that consider solicitation by an HIV-infected person, a felony.

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