(AP) — A Topeka man has pleaded guilty to 40 counts of rape, robbery and other charges stemming from a string of holdups in the city last year.

27-year-old Arthur Lee Crain III will face at least 21 years in prison at his sentencing in May, on the same day he was to have gone on trial. He entered the pleas Monday in Shawnee County District Court.

Crain was released from prison in January 2012 after serving time for armed robbery. He was arrested in late August, about six weeks after the robberies began.

The victims included individuals and stores, with female employees in some cases being sexually assaulted. The charges to which Crain pleaded guilty included two rapes, three sexual batteries and 15 aggravated burglaries.