TRENTON -- A New Jersey state trooper pleaded guilty Monday to records tampering and other charges after authorities claimed he pulled over women on state highways to ask them out and tampered with police records to cover it up.

Marquice Prather, 38, pleaded guilty to charges of invasion of privacy and evidence and records tampering in front of Judge Benjamin S. Bucca in Middlesex County.

The fired trooper's attorney, Melvin Wright, disputed the state's characterization of the plea, saying his client denied "pulling over (women) for the purposes of trying to get dates."

Prather was suspended without pay in December after internal investigators uncovered "a pattern of pulling over women, ranging in age from 18 to 42, and soliciting them to go on a date with him or give him their phone numbers," according to the state Attorney General's Office.

Authorities said Prather admitted searching the cell phones of several female drivers "without justification," rifling through their electronic personal data. In some cases, authorities said, Prather "reproduced intimate photos and videos of the women."

Wright argued his client pulled over the women for legitimate traffic violations and obtained their cell phones because they stored their insurance information electronically. In some cases, Wright said, the women had nude photographs on the phones, which Prather improperly obtained while searching them and forwarded the images to a friend.

Wright said his client regretted his behavior.

"He has certainly matured exponentially from this experience," he said.

Prather also admitted getting rid of suspected marijuana he had seized from the vehicle of a woman in one of the cases, and to falsely reporting the gender of drivers he pulled over to hide that a disproportionate number of them were women, according to the attorney general.

Under a plea deal, Prather must give up his job as a trooper and is barred from public employment in New Jersey, according to the state Division of Criminal Justice, which handled the case.

Prather is scheduled for sentencing on Dec. 8. The state will recommend that he receive a term of probation.

Prather was one of two troopers accused of similar behavior on New Jersey highways in a six month period.

Charges against the second trooper, Eric Richardson, are still pending. Authorities say the two cases are not connected.

S.P. Sullivan may be reached at ssullivan@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter. Find NJ.com on Facebook.