GROVE CITY — A Harrisville man waived his right to a hearing Wednesday, and he will likely enter a guilty plea in the Mercer County Court on charges that he raped a now 8-year-old girl.

Jason Lynn Hites, 27, of Harrisville, already a registered sexual offender, remains in the Mercer County Prison on $75,000 bail. He is accused of raping the girl over 2½-years.

He is accused of sexually assaulting the girl in Mercer; in Pine Township, Mercer County, and in Harrisville.

Hites waived his preliminary hearing before District Judge D. Neil McEwen in Grove City, where attorneys said they had reached a tentative agreement in which Hites would enter a guilty plea.

State police said the crimes occurred between December 2006 and July of this year.

Police arrested Hites Aug. 28, who was then arraigned on four counts each of rape, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a child and aggravated indecent assault.

Additionally, he is charged with four counts each of indecent assault and sexual assault, two counts of indecent exposure, six counts of corruption of minors, and failure to comply with registration of sexual offenders requirements.

Hites, according to the Megan's Law Web site maintained by state police, was deemed a sexual offender in 2001 when he was convicted of indecent assault in Mercer County.

Court records showed Hites' conviction stemmed from the sexual assault of a child less than 13 years old. He pleaded guilty to the charge and was sentenced to a maximum 18 months in prison.

In 2006, Hites was arrested for not verifying his address with state police as required of sexual offenders. He pleaded guilty, records showed, and was ordered to pay $246 in fines and court costs.