A 15-year-old boy charged in an alleged sexual assault at an Alpharetta fitness center has pleaded not guilty to all seven felony counts against him, according to a report by Page Six.
The teenager, identified as KJ Biermann, entered the plea on Monday. His attorney, Jason Sheffield, told the judge that his client was waiving a formal arraignment that had been scheduled for October 14.
Sheffield also asked the judge for ten days following receipt of discovery materials to file motions, and requested a hearing on whether the case should be transferred to Fulton County Juvenile Court before any pretrial or trial dates are set in superior court.
The Alpharetta Police Department arrested Biermann on August 17 on charges of aggravated sexual battery, aggravated sodomy, aggravated child molestation, three counts of aggravated sexual battery against a child under 16, and false imprisonment.
The charges stem from an incident in April in which a female classmate accused Biermann of sexually assaulting her at a Life Time fitness center in Alpharetta. The girl, who described herself as a close friend of Biermann’s girlfriend, alleged that he forced himself on her in a sauna and attempted multiple times to pull down her pants in an effort to have intercourse.
She further alleged that Biermann forced her to perform oral sex on him and then penetrated her vagina with his finger before she was able to get away. A medical examination conducted the following day did not find male DNA in her mouth or vagina.
Biermann, who has maintained his innocence throughout the case, spent more than a month in custody at Atlanta’s Metro Regional Youth Detention Center before being released on a $200,000 bond.
At an earlier hearing, prosecutors said investigators had recovered footage from Biermann’s cellphone that they allege shows him having sex with a family member under the age of 12.
“The matter arose from inappropriate, crude behavior involving two middle schoolers,” Sheffield told Page Six. “It did not result in an adjudication for statutory rape, sexual intercourse or any comparable offense.”
The case remains pending in Fulton County, where attorneys are expected to argue over whether it should proceed in juvenile or superior court.
