The North Carolina man accused of handcuffing and chaining an 11-year-old boy by his ankle to a porch with a dead chicken around his neck as punishment has rejected a plea deal.
Local media outlets reported Monday that prosecutors announced that Dorian Harper rejected the deal, saying he wants his trial to go on.
"My client is exercising his constitutional rights for a jury trial and we'll see where it goes," said Randolph Lee, the attorney for Harper. He added there had been a "great deal" of discussion recently about a possible plea deal.
Jury selection began after Harper rejected the plea arrangement.
The 58-year-old Harper and his girlfriend, Wanda Larson, also 58, were arrested after a sheriff's deputy found the boy in November 2013. Larson was the boy's guardian and a supervisor for the Department of Social Services in North Carolina's Union County.