LAURA CRIMALDI,Associated Press

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Former basketball star Marvin Barnes pleaded not guilty Friday to accusations that he solicited an underage girl for sex.

Barnes' lawyer, Norman L. Landroche Jr., entered a not guilty plea on his behalf to one count of indecent solicitation of a child during an arraignment in Providence. Barnes was released on $5,000 personal recognizance and ordered to stay away from his 17-year-old accuser.

Outside of court, the 59-year-old Barnes said he's "absolutely not guilty." Landroche declined to comment further. Barnes is due back in court on July 16.

Barnes, of Framingham, Mass., told The Associated Press last month that he had been set up.

Police arrested him on Jan. 16 after police monitored a meeting between him and the girl at a Cranston coffee shop. The girl, who lives in Cranston, told authorities she met Barnes at the Met School in Providence, where she is a student, according to court papers. Barnes was mentoring students at the school.

The arrest was the most recent for the forward who led Providence College to the Final Four in 1973 and whose off-the-court problems earned him the nickname "Bad News."

Philadelphia drafted him in the first round in 1974, though Barnes instead signed with the Spirits of St. Louis in the now-defunct American Basketball Association.

Named ABA Rookie of the Year in 1975, Barnes averaged 24.1 points and 13.4 rebounds in his two ABA seasons before the league folded. He went to the Detroit Pistons in 1976 before bouncing between the Buffalo Braves, Boston Celtics and San Diego Clippers. His last season in the NBA was in 1980.

The girl told police she called Barnes after he approached her at school, promised to help her get into modeling and gave her his business card, according to court papers.

The day after their first phone conversation, Barnes called the girl and offered to pay her for sex, according to a transcript of a police interview with the accuser filed in court. The girl said Barnes told her "if you don't feel comfortable the first time, we can have a threesome," and suggested he bring another woman with him.

The girl alleges Barnes knew she was 17, according to the transcript.

He also wired the girl $50 to prove he was serious about paying her $200 for sex, police said. Police said Barnes had several hundred dollars with him when he was arrested.

Barnes last month said it was his accuser who raised the subject of having sex and that she also told him she had a threesome in the past.

Indecent solicitation of a child carries a five-year prison term.

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