Former reserve sheriff's deputy and county supervisor candidate Earnest Rex Archer pleaded not guilty to seven child-molestation charges Monday at his arraignment in Yuba County Superior Court.
Judge Julia Scrogin set a Dec. 2 jury trial for Archer.
Archer, 70, allegedly molested two girls under the age of 10 when they were foster children in his Linda home.
Earnest Rex Archer, a former Yuba County Sheriff's Department reserve deputy and one-time county supervisor candidate, was bound over for trial Friday on seven child molestation charges.
Yuba County Judge James Curry ruled there was probable cause to believe Archer, 70, committed the crimes.
Curry earlier watched recorded interviews with two alleged victims, both of whom were Archer's foster children and under the age of 10.
Curry rejected a request by Archer's attorney, Donald Wahlberg, to dismiss four charges involving one of the girls.
Wahlberg said it's "pretty obvious that credibility is lacking" in an interview with one of the girls, calling her testimony "way out of whack." The offenses allegedly occurred between January 2004 and November 2007
Archer's arraignment on the charges is set for 9 a.m. July 14. He remains free on a $100,000 property bond. He has pleaded not guilty and has maintained his innocence in comments on stories about his case posted to the Appeal-Democrat Web site.
One of the foster children was adopted by a relative, William Archer, and told him about the alleged abuse. He reported it early this year to authorities, and Archer was charged in February.
Archer fell 37 votes short of unseating Yuba County Supervisor Dan Logue in a 2006 election. He later led an unsuccessful effort to have Logue recalled.
