By NEAL WAGNER / Managing Editor

COLUMBIANA – A 36-year-old Helena man has pleaded not guilty to charges of raping and sexually abusing an underage victim after he was indicted on the charges in May.

A Shelby County grand jury indicted William Thomas Beavers, who lists an address in the 1400 block of East Whirlaway in Helena, entered not-guilty pleas to charges of first-degree rape, first-degree sodomy and first-degree sexual abuse on June 15.

A Shelby County grand jury indicted Beavers on the charges on May 6, according to court documents. He is scheduled to appear in the Shelby County Courthouse for arraignment on Aug. 3 at 8:30 a.m.

The Alabaster Police Department arrested Beavers on Sept. 26, 2014, and charged him with the three felonies.

Beavers previously served 372 days in the Shelby County Jail in 2013 after he pleaded guilty to one felony count of interference with custody for “knowingly taking or enticing (the victim) from the lawful custody of its parent, guardian or lawful custodian” in 2012. He was released from jail in December 2013, and was serving a three-year supervised probation term when he was arrested on Sept. 26.

Alabaster Police Chief Curtis Rigney previously said the rape, sodomy and sexual abuse charges stemmed from the same incidents tied to Beavers’ 2013 interference with custody arrest.

First-degree rape and first-degree sodomy are Class A felonies, and each carry a maximum penalty of life in prison upon conviction.