EPHRATA — An Ephrata man has pleaded guilty to two felony offenses in the 2019 violent sexual assault of an Electric City woman.

Joshua Young Davis, 38, of Ephrata, pleaded guilty to second-degree strangulation or suffocation assault and domestic violence residential burglary. He was sentenced to 29 months in prison and 18 months of community custody.

Prosecutors had originally also charged Davis with second-degree rape in connection with the incident, to which Davis had previously pleaded guilty. However, Davis later sought to withdraw the plea, arguing that his attorney had not accurately represented the potential consequences of such a decision. His attorney at the time denied this claim. Davis additionally argued that medication had been withheld from him, medication that treated issues with his mental health, causing him to not be in a proper state of mind when he signed the plea deal.

The state eventually acquiesced to the request, allowing Davis to withdraw his previous plea and plead guilty to the two lesser charges.