A man from Kadavu charged with two counts of rape and one count of sexual assault appeared before the Suva High Court today.

The accused pleaded not guilty to his charges.

It is alleged that in June last year he raped and sexually assaulted a child under the age of 13 in Kadavu.

He is currently a serving prisoner at the Korovou Prison and has four other cases before the High Court and three before the Magistrates Court.

These cases also relates to rape and sexual assault of children below the age of 13.

The defense counsel had filed for bail not knowing that he was a serving prisoner and Judge Justice Daniel Goundar ordered the defense to withdraw the application.

The matter has been deferred to December 3rd for pre- trial conference.