A Lake Tapps man sentenced this week to serve 25 years in prison for federal child-sex crimes pleaded guilty today to similar charges in state court.

Weldon Marc Gilbert, 49, entered guilty pleas to two counts of first-degree child molestation and nine counts of sexual exploitation of a minor in Pierce County Superior Court.

 Gilbert is to be sentenced Dec. 11.

Whatever sentence he receives is to be served concurrently with his federal sentence under the terms of a plea deal he reached with state authorities, deputy prosecutor Patrick Hammond said.

Federal and state prosecutors contended Gilbert for years used his position as a wealthy pilot to lure boys to his home and convince them to take part in sexual activity. He videorecorded some of the abuse.

Authorities found hundreds of hours of footage in his home, some of it secreted in a hidden compartment in a closet.

Gilbert was arrested in October 2007 after two victims reported the abuse to Pierce County sheriff’s detectives.

He originally was charged in state court, but that case was put on hold while federal authorities prosecuted him.

Gilbert ultimately he pleaded guilty to 35 federal counts – most of them for producing child pornography – and agreed to make a plea deal with state prosecutors, too.

He apologized to his victims Monday during his sentencing hearing at the U.S. District Courthouse in Tacoma.

According to federal court records, over several years, Gilbert sexually abused 17 boys, one as young as 10.

Evidence, including videotapes found at his house, indicates he paddled many of the boys and touched them sexually.

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