LOGAN — The case involving a 37-year-old Arkansas man, accused of driving to Cache Valley to have sex with a teenage girl, is going to a jury trial in November.
Jeremiah S. Wood appeared in 1st District Court Tuesday morning for a final pre-trial conference. He was arrested in August 2017 and later charged with two counts of rape and two counts of forcible sodomy, all first-degree felonies. He also faces charges of sexual exploitation of a minor and seducing a minor over the internet, both second-degree felonies, and dealing in materials harmful to a minor, a third-degree felony.
Defense attorney Wayne Caldwell told the court they were going to need to go to trial, after failing to reach a plea deal with prosecutors. The two sides have been unable to reach any resolution for several months.
Sheriff’s investigators allege Wood traveled to the area in May 2017. He met up with the teenage girl from Hyrum at the Days Inn, reportedly checking in under a false identity. He is also alleged to have been communicating with her for over a year, exchanging pornographic photos.
The case was originally scheduled for trial in September. It had to be moved to accommodate conflicting schedules.
During Tuesday’s court appearance, Judge Cannell ordered both sides to be reach for the two-day, November 8-9.
Wood remains in the Cache County Jail on $100,000 bail. He could face up to life in prison if found guilty.