How quickly things can change in a day.

Duane E. Starkenburg was set to go to trial this week for three assaults in West Seattle's Lincoln Park.

Instead of facing a jury, Starkenburg pleaded guilty this afternoon to all charges related to the park in addition to an unrelated child molestation charge.

He faces 8 1/2 to just under 11 years in prison when he is sentenced on Friday, April 13.

Here are the details from Dan Donohoe with the King County Prosecutor's Office:

A man charged with attacking women joggers in West Seattle pleaded guilty this afternoon. Duane E. Starkenburg, 47, whose trial was set to begin this week, pleaded guilty to two counts of Assault Second Degree and one count of Assault Third Degree with Sexual Motivation for assaulting three women joggers in West Seattle's Lincoln Park in 2010 and 2011.

In each assault, Starkenburg would grab a female jogger and plant his face into the victim's buttocks.

Starkenburg also pleaded guilty to a separate charge of Child Molestation Second Degree for sexually assaulting a girl who was 9 or 10 years old, an incident that occurred approximately ten years ago and was recently reported.

The total sentence range is 103 to 130 months in prison. Prosecutors will recommend 116 months when Starkenburg is sentenced on April 13 before Judge Sharon Armstrong at the King County Courthouse, 2:30 p.m. in courtroom E-847.

Original post (before the guilty plea)
46-year-old Duane E. Starkenburg’s trial for three alleged attacks on women in West Seattle’s Lincoln Park is scheduled to begin this week after jury selection.

Starkenburg alleged pattern was to pretend to fall down as he jogged near females in the park, and then plant his face in their buttock area. He is charged with two counts of Indecent Liberties for attacks in 2010 and one count of Attempted Indecent Liberties from January, 2011.

In October, 2011 Starkenburg pleaded not guilty to an unrelated child rape charge for the alleged sexual assault of 10-year-old girl about 10 years ago. That charge will be handled in a future trial.

Background information
In the August 11, 2010 incident a woman was jogging with her Whippet dog near Coleman Pool when she passed the suspect, who stood to the side of the path to let her pass. She nodded in thanks and kept on running, then immediately heard steps behind her. Shortly thereafter the suspect tripped, grabbed her by the hips as he fell and “planted his face in her buttocks.”

The victim looked back and the suspect was on the ground looking at his hands. She told police she felt the act was deliberate and continued to run away. As she ran, the suspect said, “Are you OK?” She ran to the pool and called police.

On December 8, 2010 a different woman was walking up a set of stairs with her Lhasa Apso dog towards the Lincoln Park parking lot when the suspect appeared at the base of the stairs and started to follow her. He passed her and then stopped, claiming he had injured his shin and asked for help getting up the stairs. The woman allowed him to use her shoulder as a brace. Somehow, she told police, the suspect slipped behind her, grabbed her hips and “buried” his face into her buttocks. The victim screamed, began kicking and broke free.

The victim in the December assault provided police with enough information to create a sketch of the suspect (which police released to the public on Jan. 26, 2011).

On Tuesday, Jan. 25, 2011, Starkenburg was apprehended wearing a dark blue hooded sweatshirt and black pants after allegedly attempting to tackle a jogger. The outfit matched the description of the December assault.