AUGUSTA – A Readfield man must stay out of graveyards for the next three years if he wants to stay out of jail.

Nathan J. Morin, 22, pleaded guilty Tuesday to a charge of abuse of a corpse. The cemetery prohibition, which allows him to attend the funeral of a family member or friend, was a condition of his probation.

The charge was a result of a September 1998 break-in at a Readfield crypt in which a skull was taken from a 200-year-old grave. Morin was sentenced to nine months for an abuse of a corpse. His defense lawyer, Stephen Bourget said another person was responsible and he would have preferred that his client was charged with receiving stolen goods.

Police speculated one or more skulls from the Readfield crypt were passed from person to person.

Because of time Morin has spent in jail while awaiting trial, he may be released in about two months.

Several other charges against Morin were due to be dismissed as part of an agreement between Bourget and the district attorney’s staff. The other charges included burglary, aggravated criminal mischief in connection with the overturning of gravestones at an Augusta cemetery and desecration and defacement of a corpse.

Morin agreed to testify against another person in the case. Morin told prosecutors that another person robbed the grave, Bourget said.

Bourget said Morin and his friends gathered in the cemetery when they were younger. But now that he has children of his own, he has no time, Bourget said.