VALLEY CITY (AP) - A former Barnes County jailer has pleaded not guilty to charges he sexually assaulted female inmates.

Moe Gibbs appeared Tuesday in Southeast District Court, a spokeswoman for the attorney general's office said. A trial date was not immediately set.

Gibbs is accused of sexually abusing women while he worked at the jail in Valley City. The incidents allegedly occurred at the jail between May and September.

Gibbs is charged with sexual assault, gross sexual imposition and sexual abuse of a ward.

He waived his right to a preliminary hearing Tuesday, said Liz Brocker, a spokeswoman for the attorney general's office.

Prosecutors say Gibbs assaulted some of the prisoners while they slept.

Gibbs also is charged with murder in the death of Valley City State student Mindy Morgenstern, 22, of New Salem. His trial in that case is scheduled for June 19 in Minot.

Authorities have said that DNA evidence also links Gibbs to a 2004 rape in Fargo. A preliminary hearing in that case has not been scheduled.