A former Florida road patrol deputy who fled prosecution for the sexual assault of a 6-year-old girl in the 1970s pleaded guilty on Friday to stealing his dead stepbrother’s identity and using it stockpile weapons in Alaska, The New York Daily News reports.

Joseph Keenan May pleaded guilty to charges that include false statement in a firearms license application, the unlawful use of a Social Security number, and aggravated identity theft. He stole the identity of his dead stepbrother, Michael Brent Camp, in order to remain off law enforcement radar.

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In 1991, May was arrested and charged with sexually assaulting a 6-year-old girl “on numerous occasions between 1970 and 1977 within Manatee County at several locations.” According to authorities, he confessed to having had oral intercourse with the child, and to having fondled her, but denied have genital intercourse.

When he was released on $5,000 bond following his confession, he disappeared, eluding authorities for nearly 23 years.

When he was discovered and rearrested last June, the FBI released a statement to the press indicating that the charges against him would only be related to the “unlawful use of a Social Security number, stemming from May’s use of Camp’s name and number to apply for an Alaska’s driver’s license in 2009 and unemployment benefits in 2013.”

He faces up to 12 years in prison for these charges.

After his sentencing hearing on November 24, 2014, a judge will determine how to proceed against him on the Florida sexual assault and battery charges.

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Watch a report on May’s arrest below via 10 News.