STOCKTON - A retired California Highway Patrol officer from Tracy accused of molesting a 10-year-old boy pleaded not guilty through his attorney Tuesday in San Joaquin County Superior Court.

Robert Cain, 64, is due back in court next month when a judge will set a date for Cain's preliminary hearing to determine if there is enough evidence to merit a trial. Stockton attorney Patrick Piggott indicated Cain might enter a different plea before that hearing.

Cain is charged with six felony counts of committing lewd acts upon a 10-year-old boy from 2002 to 2005. He also is charged with a misdemeanor for trying to convince the boy not to turn him in, according to court papers.

After retiring from the Highway Patrol in 1997, Cain had worked part time for the San Joaquin County Sheriff's Office, busing inmates from the San Joaquin County Jail in French Camp to court. He remains in the Calaveras County Jail, where he is being held for fear of his safety if he were held in the San Joaquin County Jail.

San Joaquin County Deputy District Attorney Xapuri Villapudua declined to comment on the case.

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