SAN DIEGO – A San Diego County sheriff's detective pleaded not guilty to five felony charges Thursday stemming from allegations he forced a prostitute into his sheriff's car and fondled her before she could escape.

Thomas Sadler, 47, remained free on bail, which was reduced to $100,000during the arraignment in San Diego Superior Court.

Defense attorney Michael Berg said Sadler plans to aggressively fight the charges.

“He is convinced there was no wrongdoing on his part whatsoever,” Berg said after the arraignment. “He's getting over the shock of being charged in this case.”

A preliminary hearing has been set for Dec. 9.

Sadler first appeared in court two weeks ago and asked a judge to postpone his arraignment while he waited for word on whether the Deputy Sheriff's Association would provide him with an attorney.

A committee of union members decided later that day that the incident didn't fall “within the course and scope” of Sadler's duties and the detective was told to find his own attorney.

Sadler, a 20-year veteran of the department, is charged with sexual battery by restraint, assault and battery by an officer, false imprisonment, and two counts of fraudulently accessing a computer.

He was arrested at his Santee home July 31 after a six-month investigation by San Diego police. He was released from jail early the next morning after posting $250,000 bail and then tried to commit suicide later that afternoon, sheriff's officials said.

“It was a tough initial blow,” Berg said of the suicide attempt.

Sadler, who appeared in court Thursday with his wife at his side, appeared to be in a more positive mindset these days, Berg said.

According to San Diego police, Sadler forced an admitted prostitute into his unmarked Ford Taurus in North Park while on-duty the morning of February 6 and drove her to a parking lot in Mission Valley.

He then forcibly groped her until three witnesses intervened and she escaped, said San Diego police Capt. Jim Collins.

Authorities say the deputy used a confidential computer system hours after the alleged incident to check whether his vehicle license plate was listed as wanted and for information about the location of the incident.

Sadler, who is assigned to the Lemon Grove station, is on unpaid leave pending the outcome of the case.

He faces up to eight years in prison if convicted on all counts, said Deputy District Attorney Jeffrey Dort.

According to a federal lawsuit, Sadler was accused of similar behavior while on duty in 2002.

Nicole Bowman, 34, claims he stopped her in a parking lot after leaving a Santee bar, pulled up her bra and looked down her pants during a search.

Bowman said she filed the lawsuit in 2003 only after getting nowhere with sheriff's Internal Affairs investigators. The county agreed to pay her $10,000 to settle the case a year later, according to documents.

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