Abuse suspects plead not guilty

Abuse suspects plead not guilty

By STAN MILAM ( Contact ) Thursday, September 20, 2012 - 4:58 a.m.

ELKHORN--A Lake Geneva couple accused of physically abusing their six adopted children pleaded not guilty Wednesday.

Still pending are motions filed earlier by their attorneys to dismiss most of the charges.

Martin and Kathleen O’Brien, both 49, Lake Geneva, appeared Wednesday in front of Walworth County Judge James Carlson.

Defense attorneys earlier filed a motion to dismiss most of the charges, saying:

Dates of the allegations are indefinite.

Several allegations joined into a single criminal count should be treated as separate offenses.

Some of the charges aren’t specific as to whether Kathleen or Martin or both were involved.

The felony charges, which prosecutors say began in 2004, involve their adopted children—four of them from the former Soviet Union—who now range in ages from 13 to 19.

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