NEW CUMBERLAND — A former Hancock County deputy will be heading to trial after entering a plea of not guilty to charges of possessing child pornography Thursday.

First Judicial Circuit Court Judge Joseph Barki set a jury trial in September for Patrick Hoder, 56, of Newell, after accepting the plea. Hoder faces felony charges of possession of material visually portraying minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct in relation to the alleged possession of more than 600 images and/or videos.

Hoder previously served as a K-9 handler with the Hancock County Sheriff’s Office and oversaw many of the office’s community outreach programs.

He was arrested in August by the West Virginia State Police. According to previous reports, Hoder was placed on administrative leave by Sheriff Scott Gittings in July after the sheriff was informed of the investigation, and terminated from his former position once charges were filed.

The criminal complaint filed at the time of his arrest indicates Hoder had no connection to any of the individuals depicted in the material, which included two videos allegedly downloaded through a peer-to-peer file sharing network. A search also was conducted on Hoder’s personal cell phone, as part of the investigation, with the complaint indicated investing officers found 627 media files including images and videos.

Special magistrates and prosecutors had been hired out of Ohio County to present the case to Hancock County’s grand jury.

Barki scheduled Hoder, who is currently represented by defense attorney Braden Noon, to return Sept. 3 for his trial date.

Hancock County magistrates and the county Prosecuting Attorney’s Office recused themselves from the case, resulting in a special magistrate from Brooke County appointed to oversee the case through its initial stages, and Ohio County Assistant Prosecutor Gail Kahle representing the state.

Hoder previously had been represented by Robert McCoid, who died earlier this week after a battle with cancer.

No other information was available from court officials.