HILO >> A Hilo man has pleaded guilty to drowning his girlfriend’s 5-year-old daughter in the bathtub of a Wainaku apartment.

The Hawaii Tribune-Herald reported today that 32-year-old Anthony Poulin pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the death of Javieanne Winn.

In exchange for the plea, prosecutors dropped two counts of first-degree sexual assault and a domestic abuse charge. Poulin was accused of raping and killing the first-grader in September 2009.

In court, Poulin said he was accepting the plea deal but he doesn’t believe he’s guilty. He wrote a letter to the newspaper saying he saw someone unfamiliar in front of the apartment before he found the girl floating face down in the tub.

He is expected to be sentenced Nov. 1.