A convicted sex offender from West Virginia pleaded not guilty Monday in Clay District Court to sexually assaulting two children while he stayed at a Moorhead homeless shelter.
Larry Franklin Dean, 45, is accused of inappropriately touching a brother and a sister who were both under age 13. Court records say he met the children at Churches United for the Homeless.
He is charged with seven counts of second-degree criminal sexual conduct and one count of fifth-degree criminal sexual conduct.
Clay County District Judge Michael Kirk tentatively scheduled a jury trial for Nov. 16.
Dean also pleaded not guilty to a felony charge of failing to register as a sex offender.
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He served 15 years in a West Virginia prison for a 1988 conviction of sexually assaulting a young boy.
Counties in West Virginia and Maryland have issued warrants for Dean's arrest.
In Hampshire County, W.Va., Dean is accused of molesting a family member. Prosecutors in Allegany County, Md., say Dean solicited sexual acts from two young boys at a state park.
Dean is being held in the Clay County Jail in lieu of $89,000 bond. During an interview in September, Dean said the Clay County allegations are not true and he will fight the charges.
