WHITE RIVER JUNCTION — A 27-year-old Windsor County man pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of lewd conduct shortly before he was scheduled to go on trial for a felony sexual charge dating back to 2018. 

Hunter Brock, 27, of South Royalton, pleaded guilty to a reduced misdemeanor charge of prohibited conduct — first offense — open or gross lewdness, in Windsor County Superior Court on April 17, according to state court records.

Under terms of the plea agreement, Brock was handed down a deferred prison sentence and placed on probation for a year. He has been ordered to attend counseling and have no contact with the victim, court records show.

The original charge of sexual assault without consent was filed against Brock, then 21, after police said a woman reported waking up unclothed at Brock’s house with Brock on top of her following a night of drinking at a South Royalton bar, according to the police affidavit.

Brock maintained the encounter was consensual, but the woman said she did not give consent for Brock to have sex with her and that he had taken advantage of her while she was inebriated, the police affidavit said.