Three jury trials will be held for men charged with sexual abuse all stemming from the same incident. According to court records, 28-year-old Ryan Craig Montgomery of New Sharon, 21-year-old Lucas Benjamin Anderson of Rose Hill, and 21-year-old Parker Jay Davis of New Sharon appeared in court Friday for arraignment. All three filed pleas of not guilty. Each is charged with sexual abuse in the second degree.

Sexual abuse in the second degree is a class B felony. It is defined as having happened with a person displaying in a threatening manner a dangerous weapon, or uses or threatens to use force risking death or serious injury to any person; or the person is under the age of 12; or the person is aided or abetted by one or more persons and the act is committed by force or against the will of the other person.

Jury trials were scheduled in August, October, and November but a motion for one trial date was filed by the Washington County Attorney’s Office. Last month, Montgomery, Anderson, and Davis were each arrested separately in Mahaska County. The original incident allegedly happened on June 4th, 2017.