In this Oct. 27, 2016 photo, Jacob Ewing is led out of the Jackson County Courthouse in Holton. (Emily Deshazer/Topeka Capital Journal via AP)

Wichita ? The small northeast Kansas town of Holton will be torn again next week as the second in a series of trials starts for a well-known local man charged with sexually assaulting several women.

The polarizing accusations against 22-year-old Jacob Ewing in this community of some 3,300 people have prompted his supporters to put signs in their front yards and to pack court proceedings wearing T-shirts emblazoned with messages of support for him.

On the other side, advocates for the women he is accused of assaulting have formed a support group on Facebook called “I support the Victims of Jacob Ewing” that also has organized volunteers to sit in the courtroom during proceedings.

A jury acquitted Ewing in May on charges of sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl on the hood of his car in a local cemetery when he was 19. He now faces three additional trials dealing with rape and other accusations levied against him by five adult women. The trial that begins Monday is on charges of rape and aggravated criminal sodomy involving two of those women.

This Oct. 10, 2016 booking photo released by the Jackson County Sheriff's Department shows Jacob Ewing at the Jackson County Jail in Holton. (Jackson County Sheriff's Department/The Topeka Capital-Journal via AP)

Additional trials are scheduled in August and October. In May, Ewing was also charged with sexual exploitation of a child involving alleged child pornography in a separate case not yet set for trial.

Special prosecutor Jacqie Spradling confirmed Ewing is still in custody, but declined further comment.

The 22-year-old woman behind the Facebook page supporting alleged victims is Savhannah Jurgensmeier, who said she started the network because of how badly she was treated when she was raped in Holton at age 15 by someone else.

“I wanted to show these girls that they are not alone — that they do have support and that they do have people behind them,” Jurgensmeier said.

Holton resident Doug Holthaus attended the first trial to show his support for Ewing and said he will try to attend the second.

“I am not ashamed to admit it,” he said. “I just knew Jacob when he was in high school. I’ve known Jacob for a while.”

Holthaus believes Ewing is being targeted because he comes from a prominent family.

“If they can take him down and a prominent family down in this town, they can take anybody down,” he said. “That is the message that is being sent.”

Lawyers struggled to find impartial jurors during that first trial, and Ryan Alexander, chairman of Washburn University’s criminal justice department said it might be pretty difficult again.

Ewing’s attorney and his mother did not respond to a request for comment. Before an online fundraising page for the family was taken down, a description under a photo of him and his mother read: “Recently we have had some legal issues that are scary and common for young men his age. Jake is looking at some serious accusations and I will continue to support him.”

Jurgensmeier, who graduated in the same class as Ewing and now works as an advocate for sexual assault victims, recounted how Holton residents turned against her after she reported she was raped by someone she had been dating seven years ago. But unlike others, Ewing at that time was “super supportive” as she worked through the experience.

“He was a great guy, he was nice to everyone,” she said. “But what I think that this community doesn’t understand is those are the people who commit these horrifying acts; it’s not a stranger.”

The allegations against Ewing have been difficult for Holton residents, who have known him for his entire life, said Michelle McCormick, program director for the YWCA’s Center for Safety and Empowerment.

“Community members have felt like they had to choose a side, and there has been a lot of organizing by both camps,” McCormick said. “And there has been a lot of pressure, the sort of pressure that comes from living in a small, tight-knit community.”