"Habitual sex offender" pleads not guilty to latest charges

A man who's been labeled as a "habitual sex offender" by the Clark County Sheriff's Office pleaded not guilty yesterday to his latest round of charges.

Daniel A. Hooten, 36, entered that plea in Clark County Municipal Court Thursday evening. He faces two counts of rape and two counts of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor.

Hooten is accused of molesting a 14-year-old Springfield girl.

Earlier this month, the teenager told her mother and police that Hooten kissed her and then pulled her pants down and molested her at her home on Cypress Street.

Bond is set at $100,000, a pretrial conference has yet to be scheduled. Meanwhile, Hooten remains in Clark County Jail.

Previously, Hooten was convicted of rape in 1997 and ordered to serve five years of community control, or probation, which he violated in 1998 before being ordered to serve a year in prison. He was convicted of rape again in 1999 and ordered to serve two years in prison consecutive to his 1997 conviction. In 2005, Hooten was again convicted of rape and sentenced to seven years in prison, according to Clark County Common Pleas Court.

He was indicted March 19 for failure to register a change of address and was scheduled to go to trial Oct. 1. He posted the $20,000 bond in that case, according to court records.

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