BRENTWOOD, N.H. (AP) — A bestselling mystery writer has been sentenced to 3 1/2 to seven years in prison after he pleaded guilty to charges of possessing child sexual abuse material.

Brendan DuBois, 65, was indicted by a county grand jury last year. He appeared in a New Hampshire court on Thursday after prosecutors agreed to drop two of six possession counts against him as part of a plea agreement.

DuBois was arrested in Exeter last July. He has been in jail since then, so more than eight months can be credited to his term.

DuBois must register as a sex offender, according to court records. The judge recommended that he receive an assessment for sexual offender treatment at the state prison. Part of his minimum sentence could be suspended if he completes the assessment, or if it concludes that no treatment is needed.

An email seeking comment was sent on Friday to his attorney, Harry Starbranch.

DuBois’ website, which no longer appears to be working, had said he is a New York Times bestselling author who has written 29 novels. He co-wrote several of those with James Patterson, including “Cross Down,” “Count Down,” “The Summer House” and “Blowback.”

Severn River Publishing previously announced that it was removing his books from its website.

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