Two local men – charged in separate sex-crime cases involving children – entered not guilty pleas during arraignment proceedings held Thursday in Ark City.
Judge Jim Pringle set a trial date of Aug. 21 for Rick Pendland, a former middle school teacher accused of victimizing boys at his home. He was arrested last fall and remains in the Cowley County Jail.
Pringle bound Pendland over for trial following a preliminary hearing earlier this month.
A trial date of Sept. 4 was set for Jerry W. Mills, an Ark City man accused of numerous sex crimes involving female members of his family under the age of 14.
Mills was ordered bound over for trial following a preliminary hearing in late April. Some charges in the case have been dismissed because they fell outside the statute of limitations for such crimes.
Mills was arrested earlier this year and has remained in jail ever since.
Both trials are scheduled to take place at the Cowley County Courthouse in Winfield because court facilities in Ark City are too small for jury trials.
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