A former Dean of Newcastle's Anglican Diocese has pleaded not guilty to sexual and indecent assault charges.
Graeme Russell Lawrence, 75, is charged with four counts of aggravated sexual assault and aggravated indecent assault.
The alleged offences upon a 15-year-old boy in the Hunter Valley date back to 1991.
Mr Lawrence made his first appearance in Newcastle Local Court this morning.
He entered a not guilty plea, with the matter adjourned until February 14, 2018.
His bail was continued.
Mr Lawrence was charged in mid-November after Newcastle police received a referral from the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse in 2016.
Strike Force Arinya was formed to investigate allegations of sexual assault.
Mr Lawrence moved to Newcastle in 1984, and was defrocked by the Anglican Church in 2012.
