A Curryville man accused of sex crimes with five underage girls in two states will go to trial Dec. 15.
Twenty-six-year-old Chester A. Mast is charged in Missouri with two counts of felony statutory rape, two counts of felony statutory sodomy and one count of felony sexual misconduct involving a child.
In Wisconsin, he is accused of the felony charges of repeated sexual assault of the same child and incest.
The Missouri cases are being tried first. Mast pleaded not guilty at arraignment Monday.
The victim who lives in Wisconsin was the oldest of the five, but investigators said all were juveniles when the abuse allegedly took place.
Three of the victims were Amish and one had a family relationship with Mast that was closer than a second cousin, authorities have said. Mast also is Amish.
Court documents show Pike County Prosecuting Attorney Mark Fisher may call almost 30 witnesses, including several law enforcement officers and Amish from Wisconsin. The alleged victims also may testify. The trial is expected to last three days.
Fisher and Public Defender Lisa Morrow declined to comment after Monday’s hearing. Malcolm Gay, a reporter for The New York Times, attended, as did Mast’s pregnant wife and two other family members. Judge Dan Dildine set a pre-trial conference for Sept. 22.
Mast admitted in a probable cause statement to the Pike County Sheriff's Department that he had sexual intercourse and oral sex between July 2007 and March 2009 with a girl who was under 17. He also admitted to masturbating in front of a girl who was under 15 in August 2009.
The incidents in Wisconsin allegedly took place between July 1 and Nov. 1, 2004.
Pike County Sheriff Stephen Korte began the investigation after his department was contacted by the Amish on April 19.
Two of the Amish victims and one non-Amish victim were living in Pike County at the time of Mast's arrest. One non-Amish victim had relocated to Southwest Missouri.
Mast remained in Pike County Jail at Bowling Green on $100,000 cash-only bond. If convicted on all the counts he faces, Mast could get up to 32 years in prison in Missouri and 62 years behind bars in Wisconsin.
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A Curryville man accused of sex crimes with five underage girls in two states will go to trial Dec. 15.
Twenty-six-year-old Chester A. Mast is charged in Missouri with two counts of felony statutory rape, two counts of felony statutory sodomy and one count of felony sexual misconduct involving a child.
In Wisconsin, he is accused of the felony charges of repeated sexual assault of the same child and incest.
The Missouri cases are being tried first. Mast pleaded not guilty at arraignment Monday.
The victim who lives in Wisconsin was the oldest of the five, but investigators said all were juveniles when the abuse allegedly took place.
Three of the victims were Amish and one had a family relationship with Mast that was closer than a second cousin, authorities have said. Mast also is Amish.
Court documents show Pike County Prosecuting Attorney Mark Fisher may call almost 30 witnesses, including several law enforcement officers and Amish from Wisconsin. The alleged victims also may testify. The trial is expected to last three days.
Fisher and Public Defender Lisa Morrow declined to comment after Monday’s hearing. Malcolm Gay, a reporter for The New York Times, attended, as did Mast’s pregnant wife and two other family members. Judge Dan Dildine set a pre-trial conference for Sept. 22.
Mast admitted in a probable cause statement to the Pike County Sheriff's Department that he had sexual intercourse and oral sex between July 2007 and March 2009 with a girl who was under 17. He also admitted to masturbating in front of a girl who was under 15 in August 2009.
The incidents in Wisconsin allegedly took place between July 1 and Nov. 1, 2004.
Pike County Sheriff Stephen Korte began the investigation after his department was contacted by the Amish on April 19.
Two of the Amish victims and one non-Amish victim were living in Pike County at the time of Mast's arrest. One non-Amish victim had relocated to Southwest Missouri.
Mast remained in Pike County Jail at Bowling Green on $100,000 cash-only bond. If convicted on all the counts he faces, Mast could get up to 32 years in prison in Missouri and 62 years behind bars in Wisconsin.
