A taxi driver accused of molesting children along his school route has pleaded no contest to attempted sexual abuse of a child.

Eugene C. Reiners, 67, faces sentencing Oct. 14 before 3rd District Judge Homer Wilkinson on the third-degree felony charge.In exchange for his no contest plea, prosecutors dropped four first-degree felonies: two counts of sodomy on a child and two counts of aggravated sexual abuse of a child.

Reiners was accused of taking a 5-year-old boy to his home and forcing him to perform acts of sodomy and pose for nude photographs. The boy was a passenger on one of Reiners' routes that included a school for handicapped children.

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Reiners had a long white beard and told children he was Santa Claus, according to police reports.

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