KANAB, Utah (AP) - A judge has ruled that a former Bureau of Land Management official charged with sex abuse of a child can continue to be represented by a public defender.
Rex Lee Smart was charged with seven counts of sex abuse of a child, two counts of sodomy on a child and a single count of rape of a child, all first-degree felonies. He has pleaded not guilty.
Smart is the former manager for the BLM's field office in Kanab. Prosecutors had wanted Smart to pay for his own defense.
Sixth District Judge Wallace A. Lee on Friday also did not grant a defense request to reschedule a three-week trial set to begin in September.
Kane County prosecutors contend Smart abused a 9-year-old girl between May 15 and June 15, 2005, and again in September 2006.
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Information from: The Salt Lake Tribune
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