POCATELLO — A local man pleaded not guilty Monday to a felony charge of sexual battery on a minor 16 or 17 years old.

    Adam Wendell Harper was charged last month and contested his preliminary hearing last week, during which probable cause was found to bound Harper over to district court.

    The sexual battery charge comes a little more than three months after Harper was placed on probation for the second time in a 2008 case. In that case, he was charged in April of 2008 with felony attempting to remove a weapon from a law enforcement officer.

    During the incident that led to the charge, officers had to tase Harper three times in order to subdue him.

    He eventually pleaded guilty to that charge in July of 2008 and was sentenced in September of that year to two years fixed and three years indeterminate.

    Sixth District Judge Robert Naftz then retained jurisdiction over Harper, sending him on a rider, a program that addresses the underlying causes of criminal behavior in a secured setting.

    Harper completed the program and was placed on four years probation in February of 2009.

    But a probation violation was filed in July of last year. Harper eventually admitted the violation and Naftz again sent the defendant into the retained jurisdiction program last September. This time Harper was sent on the lengthier traditional rider program, which is about six months long.

    He was again placed on four years probation in May after successful completion of the retained jurisdiction program.

    A new probation violation has been filed in the 2008 case.

    After accepting Harper’s not guilty plea on Monday, Naftz set a Dec. 11 trial date for the defendant.