SANDPOINT — Criminal proceedings are resuming against a Bonner County man accused of ritualized and sexual abuse.

A preliminary hearing in the case against Dana Andrew Furtney is set for Dec. 6, court records show.

Furtney is charged with lewd and lascivious conduct, sexual battery of child involving lewd conduct and ritualized abuse.

The case against Furtney was put on hold earlier this fall when questions were raised about his capacity to understand the proceedings and assist in his own defense.

Chief Deputy Public Defender Susie Jensen moved for the mental health evaluation because Furtney’s strongly held spiritual beliefs, his belief that he has a personal relationship with God and that his actions were guided by God’s will, court records indicate.

Furtney, however, has now been deemed fit to proceed in the criminal case, court records show. He remains held at the Bonner County Jail in lieu of $500,000 bail.

Furtney, 48, is accused of sexually battering a girl in 2013 and 2014, when she was 16 years old. He’s also accused of engaging in lewd conduct with a 14-year-old girl during the same time frame and engaging in ritualized abuse by forcing a boy to consume feces and urine when he was between the ages of 11-12 years old.

The allegations against Furtney, also known as Andrew Furtney, emerged last month, after some of the alleged victims had relocated to Ohio, according to court documents.

A Bonner County sheriff’s deputy received emails outlining the alleged abuse, according to a probable cause affidavit. The messages alleged that Furtney used manipulation and religious beliefs to control the alleged victims.

Furtney allegedly told the victims he was able to hear Jesus and that he was to be obeyed, the affidavit said. Moreover, Jesus approved of Furtney’s disciplinary actions and sexual contact as appropriate forms of behavior and punishment.

The male victim told investigators that he was led to a storage container, where his feet and hands were shackled to a wall. He said he was denied food and forced to consume Furtney’s excrement in what he described as a “dungeon.” One of the female teens gave a similar account, according to court documents.

Keith Kinnaird can be reached by email at kkinnaird@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow him on Twitter @KeithDailyBee.