Ex-Idol contestant pleads guilty

Former "American Idol" contestant Corey Clark pleaded guilty to a felony harassment charge stemming from phone calls he placed to his father-in-law, and prosecutors agreed to a deal allowing him to be placed on probation, court documents show.

The crime Clark admitted to during a hearing in Yuma County Superior Court this month carries a term of as many as 2 years in prison and a $150,000 fine, according to the plea agreement.

In exchange for entering a guilty plea Oct. 2 to one felony charge of aggravated harassment involving domestic violence, Clark had four other charges dismissed, said Roger Nelson, a Yuma County prosecutor.

A sentencing date has not been set. Clark's attorney, Richard Geller, declined to comment.

Authorities said Clark violated a court order in August 2006 by placing several calls to his father-in-law. He had been charged with counts of failure to comply with the order.

Clark's wife, Monica Rodriguez Gonzalez, filed for a domestic violence protective order in June 2006, claiming that Clark had abused her. The order prohibited Clark from having any contact with her and eight other people, including their child.

Clark was disqualified from "Idol" after reaching the finals of the second season in 2003 for failing to reveal a previous arrest. He later accused "Idol" judge Paula Abdul of coaching him and initiating an affair. She denied his allegations, and Fox TV cleared Abdul of any wrongdoing.