SOUTH BEND — More than two months after his attorney informed Pacific County Superior Court Judge Donald J. Richter that he would be taking a plea deal, Tysen B. Muessig, 43, of Naselle, has backed out of the agreement.

The surprise did not sit well with the Pacific County Prosecutor’s Office, which is now filing additional charges and seeking to combine Muessig’s two active cases for rape.

During a hearing on Sept. 23 before Judge ProTem Elizabeth Penoyar at which Muessig was scheduled to enter a change of plea, be sentenced and taken into custody, he appeared in-person and rejected the agreement, sending the case to trial. His attorney, Jason Arcuri, seemed bewildered by his client’s last-minute decision.

“It was my understanding until relatively recently that we were going to have a resolution on this case. We had waived [right to a speedy trial] back in July, knowing that if he did do a change of plea, he would be going into custody that day, and that was today. He does not intend on doing that,” Arcuri stated.

Muessig stands accused of raping two children in two separate cases, which Chief Criminal Deputy Prosecutor Daniel Crawford now plans to join together. The allegations against Muessig accuse him of preying on one child while her mother worked a caregiving job, and the other victim alleges she was raped over 60 times between the ages of 9-11.

He currently faces five counts of third-degree rape and one count of first-degree rape.

Back on July 29, Arcuri stated that his client needed 30 days to get his affairs in order before he took a deal, in which he would be required to be taken into custody immediately. The court gave Muessig some leniency and gave him until Sept. 23.

“The court did [as] Mr. Muessig [requested], gave him the benefit of the doubt [extending] the time out as long as he requested in order to get his affairs in order because he had made a resolution and agreement with the State,” Crawford said. “He continues to victimize these two little girls that he previously raped.”

“This was the drop dead date for him to follow through with what he already agreed to do, and he is choosing not to do so,” Crawford added.

Crawford made it clear he will be filing numerous additional charges against Muessig. He said no more deals will be offered.

“We need to set trial dates now because there are no more resolutions [that will be on] the table,” Crawford said. Arcuri agreed that they needed to set a trial date.

Muessig’s trial dates were tentatively scheduled for Dec. 12-15, with an additional date of Dec. 19 if necessary. Pretrial has been set for Oct. 7, and additional pretrial hearings are expected. Motion hearings are expected to be scheduled for late November.

If convicted, Muessig faces up to life in prison with any release determined by an indeterminate board. He remains free on bail.