Former Tulsa County deputy pleads not guilty to raping girl

WAGONER, Okla. (AP) – A former Tulsa County sheriff’s deputy has pleaded not guilty to a charge of raping an 11-year-old girl.
The Tulsa World reports that 34-year-old Josh Wood entered the plea Wednesday in Wagoner County District Court.

Wood was charged July 25 with first-degree rape and arrested the next day after the girl told authorities that Wood assaulted her as he was driving her home from his house, where she had been playing with other children.

Wood resigned from the Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office on Jan. 11 after being placed on paid administrative leave in November 2015 pending an internal affairs investigation into his conduct.

A preliminary hearing in the case is now scheduled for Oct. 25.