Skylere Ray Catlin, 17, pleaded not guilty on Wednesday to the Class AA felony forcible rape of a girl in May of 2021.

Catlin, who will turn 18 in August, is being tried as an adult for the offense that allegedly occurred when he was 16 after the case was transferred from juvenile to district court.

A preliminary hearing was held Wednesday and Judge Richard Hagar found probable cause for it to proceed. An officer testified at the hearing that the state has evidence of Catlin’s DNA on the girl’s clothing, though the defense noted that it was not given to the police for a few days after the incident. A police officer testified that the girl told police she had not had any prior encounters with Catlin. Defense attorney Kyle Craig said during the hearing that Catlin claims he was elsewhere at the time of the incident.

A pre-trial conference in the case is scheduled for Sept. 7.