Former hotel clerk pleads not guilty to assaulting runaway

MINOT, N.D. (AP) - A Minot man has pleaded not guilty to sexually assaulting a 14-year-old runaway girl while working as a hotel clerk.

Authorities say the girl had run away from the Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch and went to the Astoria Hotel last Halloween to use the internet. Twenty-four-year-old Mohammed Siddiqui allegedly offered to let her stay in a vacant room and then sexually assaulted her.

The Minot Daily News reports Siddiqui is scheduled for trial Sept. 12. He could face up to life in prison if convicted.

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Information from: Minot Daily News, https://www.minotdailynews.com