A 37-year-old Finksburg man pleaded guilty yesterday in Carroll Circuit Court to sexually abusing a teen-age boy last summer.

Circuit Judge Luke K. Burns Jr. imposed a 10-year suspended sentence on Frederick Wesley Ward of the 4500 block of Sykesville Road.

Judge Burns sentenced Ward to five years of supervised probation and 200 hours of community service. The defendant must perform the community service within a year, the judge said.

Judge Burns also ordered Ward to continue psychological counseling and to have no contact with anyone under 18.

Assistant State's Attorney Christy McFaul, who prosecuted the case, had asked Judge Burns to impose an eight-year suspended sentence, with one year of jail time, on Ward.

"I stand by the offer I made, but I feel confident he's being adequately supervised by parole and probation and his doctor," Ms. McFaul said after the court hearing.

According to court records, Ward had inappropriate sexual contact with the boy in August and September.

In January, Ward was arrested and charged with two counts of perverted practice, one count of a third-degree sexual offense and three counts of fourth-degree sexual offenses.