The criminal trial for the second of two former Haskell Indian Nations University students accused of rape will remain in Lawrence, a judge ordered Friday.

Galen Satoe, 22, faces two felony counts of rape and a single felony count of aiding and abetting attempted rape. He was arrested alongside Jared Wheeler, 21, in 2014.

In a criminal trial last summer a jury failed to reach a unanimous decision regarding Satoe’s charges and a mistrial was declared. His second trial is scheduled to begin in February.

Galen Satoe

On Wednesday, Satoe’s attorney, Angela Keck, requested that Douglas County District Court Judge Paula Martin change the upcoming trial’s location or reschedule the proceedings for a later time.

Since Satoe and Wheeler’s arrest there has been a “steady stream of press coverage” regarding the reported incident and subsequent court proceedings, Keck argued.

In December Wheeler, who originally faced two felony counts of rape and one felony count of aggravated criminal sodomy, pleaded no contest to a single, felony count of aggravated battery.

On Jan. 6 Martin sentenced Wheeler to serve 60 days in jail, followed by two years of probation.

Keck argued news of Wheeler’s conviction and sentencing could bias potential jurors against him and asked that if Martin would not grant a new location for the trial that she reschedule the trial until the local buzz surrounding Wheeler’s case has died down.

Prosecutor CJ Rieg argued, however, the courts have enough precautionary measures in place to ensure a pool of unbiased jurors could be found.

Rieg used the trial of Dustin Walker as an example, arguing Walker — who was most recently convicted of first-degree felony murder — went through three trials in Lawrence and even then attorneys were able to find jurors who had not heard of the case.

Martin agreed with Rieg and denied Keck’s request. She noted, alongside the typical safeguards employed by the court to ensure objectivity, prospective jurors would be continually reminded to assume Satoe’s innocence during court proceedings.

Jared Wheeler

In addition, Martin said the fact that Wheeler faced allegations of rape and multiple felony charges, but pleaded to a single, battery charge, might further encourage a presumption of innocence in Satoe’s case.

Both Wheeler and Satoe were arrested in November 2014 after they were accused of raping a 19-year-old freshman woman in their dormitory room. Both were released from jail the same day after posting a $75,000 bond each. Both were expelled from Haskell.

Before Wheeler’s conviction he also faced trial, though jurors were unable to reach a unanimous decision.

In both Wheeler and Satoe’s separate trials prosecutors claimed the two men attacked the woman, while the defendants argued the encounter was consensual.

Satoe’s second trial is scheduled to begin on Feb. 21.