Kenneth Hatch III, 47, of Whitefield, arrested last June and later charged with multiple sex and drug charges involving three minors, was to appear at a deferred disposition conference in Augusta May 4. Instead, the conference was delayed, for a third time. It had been set for October 2016 but was continued, to provide for a change of venue from Knox County to Kennebec County. Then it was continued from a February date due to an illness in his lawyer’s family.

After Justice William Stokes’ brief discussion with Hatch’s attorney, Richard Elliott of Boothbay Harbor, the dispositional conference was again rescheduled, this time to June 20 at 8:30 a.m.

In prior interviews, Elliot has stated Hatch is not guilty and intends to go to trial. Elliott was not available for an interview after the meeting with Stokes in Kennebec County Unified Court.

Assistant Attorney General John P. Risler said in February the trial would likely be in July. The nearness of the dispositional conference may delay it.

Hatch remains on indefinite leave from his job as a deputy with the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Department, pending the case’s outcome. Many of the charges against Hatch involve alleged incidents while on duty.