May 17, 11:59 PM EDT

Plea offer in Delaware waterboarding case


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DOVER, Del. (AP) -- A woman who lived with a Delaware pediatrician accused of waterboarding her 11-year-old daughter has agreed to plead guilty to child endangerment charges and testify against him.

In accepting a plea offer from prosecutors, Pauline Morse agreed Friday to plead guilty to three misdemeanor counts of endangering the welfare of a child and to cooperate with prosecutors and testify against Dr. Melvin Morse.

Melvin Morse, 59, has written a best-selling book and achieved national recognition for his research into near-death experiences involving children. Police suggested in an affidavit that he may have been experimenting on the girl last year, a claim he denies.

A trial for Melvin Morse is scheduled to start June 10. Morse and his attorney, Joe Hurley, did not immediately return telephone messages seeking comment Friday.

A spokesman for the attorney general's office had no immediate comment.

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