Rape suspect pleads not guilty

SANDPOINT — A Coeur d’Alene man accused of repeatedly raping a minor in Bonner County is pleading not guilty.

Ernest Ray Johnson III is scheduled to be tried in 1st District Court in October. Johnson entered the plea on Monday.

Charging papers allege that Johnson raped the girl from 2008 to 2010, when she was between the ages of 8 and 11. Johnson waived his right to a preliminary hearing and was bound over to stand trial.

Johnson, 32, is being held at the Bonner County Jail with bail set at $75,000.

About six weeks after Johnson was arrested, his 29-year-old wife, Heidi, was charged with felony injury to a child because allowed the alleged victim to placed in a harmful situation and allegedly participated in the abuse.

Heidi Julia Johnson posted a $25,000 bond and a preliminary hearing in her case is set for Aug. 29.