Ottawa ? Despite results of a 330-person survey showing that more than 90 percent of Franklin County residents surveyed believe the defendant in an Ottawa quadruple homicide is guilty “to some extent,” the man’s trial will remain in Franklin County, a judge ruled Tuesday afternoon.

Kyle Flack, 29, of Ottawa, is accused of killing Kaylie Bailey, 21, of Olathe; her 18-month-old daughter, Lana-Leigh; Andrew Adam Stout, 30, of Ottawa; and Steven Eugene White, 31, of Ottawa. Flack pleaded not guilty to charges of murder and rape after the four were found slain near Ottawa in the spring of 2013.

Flack’s attorney, Tim Frieden, argued that media coverage of Flack’s ongoing pretrial court hearings had prejudiced potential jurors. Since Flack’s preliminary hearing more than a year ago, the Ottawa Herald has published 17 articles related to the Flack case and the Journal-World has published eight, Frieden said.

Frieden said that coverage is to blame for survey results that suggest that the large majority of a random sample of 330 Franklin County residents know about the Flack case and believe Flack to be at least somewhat guilty.

The defense hired Troy Comeau, an associate professor at Pittsburg State University, to conduct the survey, which found that 93 percent of respondents knew about the case with at most two promptings, and that 92.6 percent of respondents believe Flack is guilty to some extent. Comeau said the survey had an error margin of about 5.3 percent.

“What this tells us is that (the public is) receiving facts about the case,” Comeau said. “They are reading their newspapers.”

Franklin County Attorney Stephen Hunting wanted the case to stay in Ottawa. Hunting criticized the survey questions for not asking whether the respondents would be able to put aside their biases to fairly decide the case if selected as jurors. Hunting also said the media coverage has not been prejudicial to the extent that a “lynch mob” has formed for Flack, nor have there been “threats to blow up the jail.”

“The fact of the matter is that a quadruple homicide where four people were murdered, including an 18-month-old child, is going to make headlines,” Hunting said.

But based on the survey findings, Comeau said he felt it was “highly unlikely to find a jury that had not formed an opinion or knew facts of the case.”

Throughout court proceedings, media access has been limited. The court has sealed 68 documents, Franklin County District Judge Eric Godderz said, including subpoenas, DNA testing and jury questionnaires. The court also set out specific guidelines for media members to follow, including restrictions on recording, photography and technology.

Godderz ruled Tuesday after reviewing exhibits, including the Ottawa Herald and Journal-World articles, that the “magnitude and tone of coverage is limited” and there has been “no call to arms by the news media,” that media interference has not been “so pervasive that it requires a change of venue.”

Though he ruled with the prosecution, Godderz did make it clear in court Tuesday that he was not a fan of pretrial press coverage.

“This court is not particularly in favor of allowing the media to attend (court hearings),” Godderz said, “but because of the Supreme Court I have allowed the hearings to remain open.”

The Ottawa Herald filed a motion to intervene last month for the court to release the 68 sealed documents to the public. The Ottawa Herald’s attorney, Max Kautsch, of Lawrence, argued Tuesday that the documents should be released because the defense and prosecution could not show that the unsealing would cause pretrial prejudice.

“Media publicity alone never establishes prejudice, and that’s according to case law,” Kautsch said. “We’re talking about court documents with legalese. There’s no evidence to show there’s any prejudice.”

But Godderz said he believed that it is the court’s job to decide what information should be disseminated to protect Flack’s chances for a fair and impartial jury.

“It’s this court’s opinion that the media lacks the expertise nor the inclination to make the determination of what should or should not be publicized,” Godderz said.

Kautsch said that withholding the information “undersells Franklin County,” and makes “an assumption that voir dire,” or jury selection, is irrelevant. But with Flack’s jury trial set to begin Sept. 14, Godderz said it serves the justice system’s best interest to keep the documents sealed.

“It’s the court’s opinion to grant this petition would present a clear and present danger to the fairness of this case,” Godderz said. “Trial is just a short time away. There’s not a lot about the case that (is) widely known in this community.”

There is a possibility that the trial won’t be starting so soon, though. On Tuesday, the defense requested a continuance until April so that the attorneys can review evidence and conduct follow-up investigations.

The state said it “strongly opposes” the continuance because of the large amount of time that had passed since proceedings began. By Sept. 14, it will have been 18 months since Flack’s preliminary hearing. Godderz said he tended to agree, but would wait to make a decision until the next court date.

“My problem with this is that I remember arguing with counsel in chambers (months ago),” Godderz said. “I was dead-set against (setting the trial out until 2015.) I wanted to set it in 10 or 11 months.”

Godderz said he will take up the motion to continue again at a brief court hearing on July 17. At that time, the prosecution and defense aim to have finalized jury instructions to present to the court, as well. The questionnaires are scheduled to be mailed out to potential jurors on July 20.