A Texas judge Monday declined to recuse himself from the felony child-endangerment case involving NFL star Adrian Peterson, who is accused of injuring his young son with a disciplinary whipping.
Prosecutors in Montgomery County, Texas, had asked that Judge Kelly Case recuse himself over disparaging remarks about the attorneys on both sides.
The judge’s refusal to step aside opened the door for a hearing on the matter now scheduled for Wednesday.
As that matter dragged on, Peterson’s formal plea of not-guilty to the charge he faces for allegedly using a switch cut from a tree to punish his four-year-old son was made public.
The former NFL Most Valuable Player faces two years in jail and a $10,000 fine on the charge of reckless or negligent injury to a child.
Peterson, 29, was benched last month, when he became one of several high-profile NFL players faced with domestic violence charges.
He was placed on the commissioner’s exempt list by his team, the Minnesota Vikings, but continues to be paid.
Peterson is free on $15,000 bond, but prosecutors last week asked the court to order him arrested for violating the terms of his bail after he allegedly told a court-hired drug tester he had smoked marijuana.