NORTHAMPTON, Mass. (AP) — A 59-year-old South Hadley man charged with raping a child more than 20 years ago has pleaded not guilty.
The Daily Hampshire Gazette reports that Gary Mackechnie was released on personal recognizance at his arraignment Monday in Hampshire Superior Court.
A grand jury indicted him in December on two counts of rape and abuse of a child and two counts of indecent assault on a child younger than 14.
Prosecutors say the alleged assaults occurred in Granby in the early 1990s when the girl was 12 and 13. They were reported to Granby police in 2011.
The alleged victim was a friend of the suspect’s family.
Mackechnie’s court-appointed attorney refused comment. Mackechnie said he did not want to discuss the case when contacted at home.
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