Judge enters not guilty plea for NH man accused of raping teen church member in 1997

Not guilty plea entered for NH man accused of rape

CONCORD, N.H. — A judge has entered a not guilty plea for a New Hampshire man accused of raping and impregnating a 15-year-old fellow church member more than a decade ago.

Judge Gerard Boyle also denied Ernest Willis a public defender Wednesday because he owns too much property to qualify. He advised the 51-year-old Willis to get an attorney before his next hearing July 6.

Willis has been charged with raping Tina Anderson in 1997. He has declined to comment.

Leaders of Concord’s Trinity Baptist Church had arranged for Anderson to move to Colorado after she got pregnant. The rape case was reopened this spring after friends urged her to come forward.

The Associated Press does not generally identify victims of sexual assault, but Anderson asked that her name be made public.