LISBON — A jury trial has been scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Nov. 17 for Brett Thompson, who’s charged with four counts of first-degree felony rape.

“As of today, this case is unresolved,” Thompson’s defense attorney Joseph Ohlin said Wednesday.

Ohlin accompanied Thompson, 19, Dairy Lane, East Liverpool, during a telephone status hearing before Columbiana County Common Pleas Court Judge Scott Washam. Assistant Attorney General William Walton II, who’s representing the prosecution, attended via telephone.

He had originally sought a continuance of the hearing, but Washam suggested a telephone conference. Ohlin and Thompson attended in person in the courtroom. Thompson remains out of jail on a $100,000 cash or surety bond, with an order to have no contact with the victim.

According to the indictment, Thompson allegedly compelled a woman to submit by force or threat of force to sexual conduct from Oct. 1, 2023 to Oct. 2, 2023, with each count representing a different form of sexual conduct.

During the hearing, Walton said he had talked to defense counsel Edward Hartwig, who had indicated he was looking into the possibility of getting an expert witness. According to Ohlin, who’s on the case with Hartwig, “we have not made a final decision on that yet.”

Washam gave the defense a deadline of July 18 to identify an expert if they choose to hire one.

An interim status hearing was set for 10 a.m. Aug. 6, with a final status hearing set for 10 a.m. Oct. 10.

The attorney general’s office was assigned to prosecute the case after the county prosecutor’s office cited a possible conflict of interest.