The pre-trial hearing of Ohio State freshman football receiver Albert Dukes, who pleaded innocent Dec. 21 to felony charges of lewd and lascivious sexual battery, is scheduled for Feb. 24 in his hometown of Belle Glade, Fla., said a spokesman at the Palm Beach County District Attorney’s Office.

Although criminal charges were filed in July by the Belle Glade Police Department, Dukes, 19, was not arrested until he returned home for winter break, said Michael Edmondson, executive assistant to the Palm Beach County District Attorney.

Dukes posted bond Dec. 21, and traveled with the team to San Antonio for the Alamo Bowl, although he was not permitted to dress for the game. He was confined to his hotel room except for supervised visits, according to media reports.

The charges, both second-degree felonies, each carry a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison and a $10,000 fine, Edmondson said.

The lewd and lascivious battery statute refers to coerced oral sex with a minor no younger than 12 and no older than 16, he said.

The charges against Dukes stem from two July 4, 2004, incidents involving a then-12-year-old girl, according to the Belle Glade Police report.

At the Feb. 24 pre-trial hearing, Dukes will appear before Judge Nelson Bailey in the 15th Judicial Circuit Court in Florida, and if a plea bargain is not reached the case could go to trial soon, said Melonie Grimes, manager of the Palm Beach County Clerk of Courts Office.

Dukes is being represented by the Palm Beach County Public Defender’s Office, Grimes said.

Several calls were made to the public defender’s office for comment, and two messages were left, however, a phone call was not returned.

In a Jan. 5 Columbus Dispatch article, OSU Director of Athletics Andy Geiger said that Dukes was not taking winter quarter classes.

“I have been in no discussions with anybody about the change of status for Albert Dukes,” Geiger said Tuesday, in a cell phone voicemail message to The Lantern. “All the coaches are away this week and won’t be back until this weekend. So, I don’t anticipate knowing anything further until then.”

The red-shirt freshman was one of the top prep wide receiver prospects out of Florida after earning first-team all-state honors. He was rated as the 24th-best wide receiver in the country by TheInsiders.com, and the 39th-best overall prospect in Florida by SuperPrep, according to ohiostatebuckeyes.collegesports.com.