Kenneth Hatch III, who was arraigned in Knox County Court on Aug. 23 on 22 charges stemming from the alleged sexual abuse of three minors and aggravated furnishing of scheduled drugs to those minors, has had his case formally transferred to Kennebec County Unified Court.

The change of venue to Kennebec County means that none of the officers of the court whom Hatch dealt with in his professional life will be involved with his case. The district attorney for Kennebec County is Meaghan Maloney. The district attorney for both Lincoln and Knox counties is Geoffrey Rushlau.

Hatch was arrested in July on two charges. A grand jury subsequently indicted him on 20 additional charges. He pled not guilty to all charges and is currently on unpaid leave from the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office. His next court date is scheduled for Feb. 16 at 1 p.m. in Augusta.