Man pleads not guilty to sexual assault
The Associated Press | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 11 years, 11 months AGO
CODY, Wyo. (AP) — A Montana man accused of kidnapping a Cody girl has pleaded not guilty to sexually assaulting her.
Jesse Paul Speer, 40, of Manhattan, appeared in court Thursday to enter a plea to the latest charges filed against him in the October kidnapping. He only answered “yes” and “no” to questions, and his public defender entered the plea on his behalf.
Speer, a nature photographer, pleaded not guilty in December to kidnapping, aggravated assault and using a gun in the commission of a felony. Last month, court documents revealed that the divorced father of two also was charged with first- and second-degree sexual assault, and aggravated assault. Those charges were sealed until Circuit Court Judge Bruce Waters ruled there was enough evidence for the case to advance to District Court.
Court documents indicate police have recovered DNA evidence linking Speer to the girl, who was 10 at the time.
She has since turned 11. Her mother said last month that the girl has returned to school and has begun putting her life back together.
Authorities allege that Speer lured the girl into to his vehicle in Cody with a request for help finding a lost dog. They say Speer brandished a pistol, drove the girl out of town, sexually assaulted her and then released her. Hunters found the girl and took her to safety.
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