Joseph Peschges, Hill-Murray's former president, admits indecent conduct

Joseph Peschges pleads guilty to lesser charges.

Now he's copped to misdemeanor indecent conduct in Ramsey County District Court, after an original arrest on suspicion of fifth-degree criminal sexual conduct.

If he does some community service, pays a small fine, completes a sex-offender assessment and stays out of trouble, the misdemeanor charge will be dropped. Meanwhile, he's looking for a new job, since he resigned from his Hill-Murray post.

Peschges was caught in an operation designed to put the kibosh on a rising tide of men cruising Crosby Park and Meeker Island, looking for a romp with other men.

But his lawyer, Kevin Short, insists Peschges wasn't trying to score sex from an undercover cop when he was arrested. He was innocently riding his bike through the park, and "there was simply a conversation and a touch."