Rape suspect pleads not guilty

SANDPOINT — A Sandpoint man accused of statutory rape and sexual abuse of a teen pleaded not guilty on Monday.

David Anthany Dorland Jr.'s pleas clear the way for a jury trial in 1st District Court in May. Dorland waived his right to a preliminary hearing in Bonner County Magistrate Court earlier this month.

The allegations against Dorland surfaced last month, after a teenager disclosed them to investigators. The teen said she advised Dorland she was a minor after he allegedly sexually harassed her, according to a probable cause affidavit.

Dorland, 28, admitted to sexually harassing the teen and said the two met up in order to have sex between December of last year and January of this year. Dorland did not deny having sex with the teen when he was confronted by investigators, the affidavit said.

The teen underwent a forensic interview at the LillyBrooke Family Justice Center in Sandpoint, court records indicate.

Dorland made an initial appearance in magistrate court last month. Judge Tera Harden appointed a public defender to represent him and she entered an order forbidding him from having any form of contact with her while the case was pending.

Dorland was ordered held in lieu of $10,000 bail. Statutory rape is punishable by up to life in prison, while sexual battery of a 16- to 17-year-old is punishable by up to 25 years in prison.

Sandpoint Police turned to the public last month to determine if Dorland had victimized others in the community.