The Ansonia High School student accused of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl at the school will be back in Derby Superior Court on July 15 for a hearing to determine whether the case should get moved to Milford Superior Court, where more serious crimes are heard.
At his arraignment Tuesday morning, Christian Balaj, 18, appeared with a contingent of six family members and friends, and his attorney William F. Dow, III, of New Haven.
Dow entered a plea of not guilty for Balaj, but Judge Karen Sequino vacated the plea in order to wait for a decision on where the case will be heard.
Balaj was arrested on June 9 by Ansonia police and charged with first degree sex assault and risk of injury to a minor.
Balaj has been free on $25,000 bail since his arrest. Police said Balaj sexually assaulted a 14-year-old fellow student in a dressing room near the school’s auditorium during the school day.
The two students knew each other but the contact was not consensual, according to police spokesman Lt. Wayne Williams.
Williams said a teacher saw the students coming out of the auditorium area and contacted the department’s school resource officer stationed in the school.
Sequino ordered the court records sealed and for Balaj to have no contact with the alleged victim, whose identity was not revealed.
