EATONTON - The leader of an Egyptian-themed religious group,
who has been in federal custody for the past four months, pleaded innocent
Friday to 208 child molestation counts.
Dwight York, the leader of the United Nuwuabian Nation of Moors, has been
accused of repeated sexual molestation of the children of his followers, 200 of
whom supported York at the courthouse.
Outside the courthouse, they chanted, ``God will make a way!'' and ``We love
you!'' as York, dressed in a blue business suit, was led into a police van.
Superior Court Judge William Prior Jr. also agreed to move York's trial from
Putnam County. Prior said he will name a county in a couple of weeks.
In 1993, York, 57, along with 100 or so of his followers in the quasi-religious
sect, moved from Brooklyn, N.Y., to a 400-acre rural property in Putnam County.
An investigation began after police received anonymous tips that York was
molesting children in the group. A May indictment charged him with 120 counts
of child molestation and related crimes. That figure almost doubled in October.
York also has been indicted in federal court and charged with four counts of
transporting children across state lines for the purposes of illegal sexual
activity.