A man accused of kidnapping a 9-year-old girl from a state park in upstate New York pleaded guilty to two felony counts and faces 47 years to life in prison.

Craig N. Ross Jr. pleaded guilty Wednesday under a plea deal to first-degree kidnapping and predatory assault of a child, according to the Saratoga County district attorney.

Ross was charged in the abduction of the girl on Sept. 30 from Moreau Lake State Park, located in a rural area about 35 miles north of Albany. A search involving more than 100 people ended two days later when state police troopers and an FBI SWAT team stormed a camper Ross was staying in. Rescuers found the girl alive in a cabinet.

Ross, 46, had faced additional charges of abuse, assault and endangering the welfare of a child. His trial was scheduled to begin April 8.

He now faces 25 years to life in prison for first-degree kidnapping and 22 years to life for predatory� assault against a child when he is sentenced on April 17. The sentences will be served consecutively.

�With the guilty plea today of Craig N. Ross Jr., the victim and their family were able to hear the defendant admit his guilt to these heinous and despicable acts,� District Attorney Karen Heggen said in a prepared release. �He will serve decades in prison before any parole consideration is available to him.�

The break in the kidnapping case came after officers stationed at the girl�s home saw someone drop a ransom note in the family�s mailbox before dawn. State police matched fingerprints on the note to Ross, who was in a database because of a 1999 drunken driving case.

(AP)