Suspect enters not guilty plea

SANDPOINT — An Oldtown man accused of forcible rape pleaded not guilty in 1st District Court on Tuesday.

Jax Jale Baker’s plea clears the way for a two-day jury trial in June. He is free on his own recognizance while the case is pending.

Baker, 19, is accused of forcing himself on a female at an Oldtown residence on June 30, 2015. The alleged victim, whose age is not specified in court documents, testified during a preliminary hearing last month that she began having consensual sex, but withdrew her consent as the encounter escalated, according to court documents.

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