After pleading guilty to federal charges of child-sex crimes, Lake Tapps pilot Weldon Marc Gilbert withdrew his plea Tuesday in Pierce County Superior Court after learning he may spend the rest of his life in prison.

Gilbert, 49, received a 25-year federal sentence in his plea agreement, with the agreement he would plead guilty in state court and receive a state sentence of no longer than 16 years and six months in prison to run concurrently with the federal sentence.

The prosecutor and Gilbert’s defense attorneys agreed he qualified to serve his federal and state sentences together, but the judge, Susan Serko, believed Gilbert could receive an open-ended sentence, which could include life in prison, and would be determined by the state’s Indeterminate Sentence Review Board.

Serko said Gilbert was entitled to withdraw his plea because she didn’t make it clear to him he could face a life sentence.

It remains uncertain if a new trial will be set or if a new plea agreement which includes a concurrent sentence will be reached.

Gilbert is scheduled to appear at a hearing Jan. 28.