Man accused of sexually abusing boys on air base

A Minnesota man has pleaded not guilty to federal charges that he sexually abused two boys on a U.S. Air Force Base overseas.

Online court records indicate 29-year-old Joshua Gardner of St. Francis entered his plea Tuesday during a detention hearing.

Federal and military officials say an indictment unsealed Monday in Minneapolis charges Gardner with two counts of aggravated sexual abuse and two counts of abusive sexual contact of a child.

The indictment alleges Gardner sexually abused two boys under the age of 12 on the Kadena U.S. Air Force Base in Okinawa, Japan, between September 1997 and May 2002. During that time, Gardner lived in Okinawa.

Gardner was arrested last Friday. He was ordered to a halfway house and his trial scheduled for Nov. 28.

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