Dad: I'm not guilty of raping daughter, posting vid

SPOKANE, Wash. - A man accused of raping his daughter when she was 13 and posting videos of the abuse online pleaded not guilty yesterday during his arraignment here and was ordered held without bond.

Kenneth John Freeman, 45, was brought to federal court in Spokane a day after his extradition from Hong Kong. He was indicted in January on one count of producing child pornography and one count of transporting child pornography. Each count carries a 20-year maximum prison sentence.

Freeman, a computer adviser, bodybuilder and former reserve sheriff's deputy in Washington's Benton County, also is wanted on federal child pornography charges in Oregon.

The case came to light when his daughter, now 17, told her mother of the alleged attacks. In March 2006, Freeman fled the country for Hong Kong, living for a year in the interior of China before his arrest in May as he re-entered Hong Kong. In a statement released to news media last week, Freeman did not directly address allegations by his daughter that he had videotaped her abuse four years ago and distributed the sexual assault via Internet pornographers. He did say he "never physically hurt or threatened" his daughter.

The daughter discussed the case on the TV show "America's Most Wanted." The posted videos of the abuse have been widely downloaded, officials said. *