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Judge again denies moving Roger Bentley's trial to western Iowa
IOWA CITY (AP) --- A judge has again denied an attempt to move the trial of Roger Bentley, accused in the kidnapping and murder of a 10-year-old Cedar Rapids girl, to a county in the western half of the state.
Bentley, 38, of Brandon, is charged with first-degree kidnapping and first-degree murder in the death of Jetseta Gage in March. Her body was found the next day in a rundown mobile home in rural Johnson County.
In July, District Judge Patrick Grady ruled Bentley's trial would be moved from Johnson County to Scott County because of pre-trial publicity.
Days after Grady's ruling, defense attorneys filed an objection, arguing that the chances of getting Bentley a fair trial would be heightened if it were held in Council Bluffs in Pottawattamie County.
During a hearing Tuesday, Grady acknowledged the defense objections to Scott County, but declined to change his mind.
"I don't see anything in the record at this time to change my original determination," Grady said during the brief hearing.
Bentley's trial is scheduled to begin Nov. 28 in Davenport.
Defense attorney Peter Persaud said the objection was largely procedural. Under state law, defendants must file an objection to a change of venue ruling to preserve the right to bring the matter up again after jury selection begins.
Bentley, a registered sex offender, is accused of taking the girl from her home, driving her to the rural mobile home southwest of Iowa City and sexually assaulting and suffocating her.
Described as a friend of the family, police say Bentley was working at Gage's home the day she disappeared, repairing a vehicle owned by the girl's mother, Trena Gage.
Jetseta Gage's disappearance and death received state and national media attention, and her case also provoked legislative changes in the way the state manages sex offenders convicted of molesting children.
Bentley's younger brother, James Bentley, 34, of Vinton, is charged with sexually abusing Gage several times from 2002 to 2004.
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