CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) – A man who sexually assaulted a fellow University of Virginia student in 1984 and then apologized to her two decades later as part of the 12-step Alcoholics Anonymous program pleaded guilty to the crime Tuesday.

William Beebe entered his guilty plea in Charlottesville Circuit Court to one count of aggravated sexual battery for assaulting Liz Seccuro, who now lives in Greenwich, Conn., during a party at U.Va.’s Phi Kappa Psi fraternity house 22 years ago.

Under the plea agreement, the state recommended that Beebe serve two years in prison.

Prosecutor Claude Worrell told the court that one of the main reasons the prosecution agreed to a plea is because the investigation has revealed that more than one person may have sexually assaulted Seccuro.

Under the agreement, Beebe has agreed to cooperate with authorities as they continue their investigation into exactly what happened that night.

Judge Edward Hogshire set formal sentencing for March 15. Beebe will remain free on bond until then.

“This began as an effort to make amends,” Beebe said in a statement outside of court. “In pleading guilty today to a lesser charge I acknowledge formally what I tried to acknowledge in my letter.

“Twenty-two years ago I harmed another person and I have tried to set that right.”

Beebe, 41, of Las Vegas, had been scheduled to face trial Nov. 27 on charges of rape and object sexual penetration. He could have faced life in prison if convicted of those charges.

Under AA’s ninth step, alcoholics are advised to make amends to those they’ve harmed – unless doing so would cause further injury. Last year, Beebe – a member of AA – decided to write Seccuro a letter to make amends for assaulting her.

Seccuro, now 39 and living in Greenwich, Conn., said when Beebe’s letter arrived in September 2005, it reopened old wounds. She eventually replied to his letter and the two entered into a two-month e-mail correspondence.

In their e-mails, which Seccuro provided to The Associated Press, Beebe told Seccuro he had long been haunted by what he had done, and wanted to atone for having harmed her. But Seccuro became upset when his account of what he did to her did not match with her memory of the assault, which she describes as violent and savage. She was just 17 years old and still a virgin when Beebe attacked her, she said.

In December, Seccuro decided to call the Charlottesville police to report what had happened. As there is no statute of limitations on felonies in Virginia, Beebe was arrested in Las Vegas and extradited to Virginia.

After his arrest, Beebe initially claimed he was innocent. His attorney, Rhonda Quagliana, said Beebe had simply wanted to apologize to Seccuro for treating her “thoughtlessly in a college sex encounter.”

But Beebe’s own writings to Seccuro told a different story. In one e-mail, he wrote, “I want to make clear that I’m not intentionally minimizing the fact of having raped you. I did.”

Tuesday, outside of court, Seccuro said tearfully, “I think that the idea of closure for any victim of a sexual assault is not reality. There is never closure.

“However, in light of this new evidence, I understand that it doesn’t end in the immediate future and it’s far more grave than previously thought.”

Seccuro went public with her name and story, hoping to inspire other sexual assault survivors to seek help. She launched a donor fund called STARS – Sisters Together Assisting Rape Survivors – to raise money for programs helping rape victims and their families.

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On the Net:

STARS Survivors: http://www.starssurvivors.org/

AP-ES-11-14-06 1007EST