Kenneth Hatch’s Feb. 16 dispositional conference in Augusta was continued owing to serious illness in his counsel’s family.

Hatch, of Whitefield, is on indefinite unpaid leave from his duties as a Lincoln County sheriff’s deputy until the case is concluded.

His lawyer, Richard W. Elliott III of Boothbay Harbor, cleared his schedule for two weeks to address the medical issues.

Assistant Attorney General John P. Risler did not know when a new court date would be set for the conference. “It could be two weeks, it could be two months,” he said. But he said he did not expect a settlement in the case, and anticipated it will go to trial.

In an Oct. 27, 2016 order for a change of venue, the court transferred the case from Lincoln County to Kennebec County. The prosecution had not objected, but Hatch had asked to keep the case in Lincoln County.

Unless a dispositional conference yields a settlement, the trial is scheduled in late July 2017 with jury selection anticipated July 13 or 14. The timing may change if the conference occurs too close to the scheduled trial date, Risler said.

Hatch faces 21 charges including Sexual Abuse of a Minor, Unlawful Sexual Contact, and Aggravated Furnishing of Scheduled Drugs, stemming from alleged incidents from 1999 to 2014.