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Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend December 20, 2005 Mother pleads guilty to criminally negligent homicide By ANITA BURKE Mail Tribune A Central Point woman whose 2-year-old son drowned in a partially drained swimming pool in September 2004 has pleaded guilty to criminally negligent homicide. Crystal Ann DeLap, 26, entered her plea Monday and will be sentenced after a court-ordered pre-sentencing investigation is completed, said Matt Chancellor, deputy district attorney for Jackson County. She likely will face 18 months in prison, he said. "We thought this was reasonable and fit the facts," Chancellor said of the plea. DeLap’s son, Stephen Randolph Horvath, was found Sept. 3, 2004, floating face-up in a partially drained above-ground swimming pool at a Sams Valley home DeLap and her two children shared with her then-boyfriend Steven John Hunt. Paramedics were unable to resuscitate the boy and he was pronounced dead at Rogue Valley Medical Center. Investigators said Stephen and his 4-year-old brother had played outside unattended for about an hour before the younger boy climbed the ladder to the pool apparently to retrieve some plastic balls. He slipped on the slick vinyl and fell into about 2½ feet of water where he struggled to stand, leaving tiny hand prints in algae along the pool’s edge. Advertisement His brother tried to warn adults, but was told to go back outside, investigators said. His mother was apparently sleeping inside. The above-ground pool was installed without a permit or self-locking gate required by county code, detectives said. With DeLap’s plea, prosecutors dismissed a second-degree criminal mistreatment charge and ultimately will remove first- and second-degree manslaughter charges. Hunt, 53, still faces charges of first- and second-degree manslaughter, child neglect and second-degree criminal mistreatment. He is expected to go to trial next year, Chancellor said. Reach reporter Anita Burke at 776-4485, or e-mail Mother pleads guilty to criminally negligent homicide ">[email protected] . Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback www.bingo.com Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker dvd-r Distance Education Computer Security Ztech Media Hosting Sports Equipment Student Loans Online Pharmacy tcg student loan consolidation Online Casino Reviews Myspace Home Equity Loans Windermere Van Vleet Deep Muscle Stimulator Discount Hotel Reservations Southern Oregon Loans Online Casino News Online Bingo Entertainment Guide Salvia Divinorum Online Casino Advertisement s