Nineteen-year-old Ashton Larson on Thursday pleaded not guilty in Freeborn County District Court to all counts against her related to alleged elder abuse at Good Samaritan Society of Albert Lea.

Her case will now be scheduled for a pre-trail and jury trial.

The jury trial itself is expected to last about six days, Freeborn County Attorney Craig Nelson and Ashton Larson’s lawyer, Evan Larson, said on Thursday. Picking a jury will last at least one day.

Nelson said there has obviously been considerable media coverage in the case, but he does not think he and the defense are incapable of picking a jury in Freeborn County.

Evan Larson said he and his client have not made a decision about whether to ask for a change of venue.

Ashton Larson faces two counts of fifth-degree assault, five counts of criminal abuse of a vulnerable adult, two counts of disorderly conduct of a vulnerable adult and one count of mandatory failure to report stemming from alleged incidents at the nursing home in Albert Lea from January through May 2008.

Charges in the case came in December 2008 after an investigation into the allegations of abuse by local and Minnesota Department of Health officials; however, details of the allegations surfaced August 2008 after the release of the Department of Health’s report.

The report concluded four teenagers were involved in verbal, sexual and emotional abuse of 15 residents at the nursing home. The residents suffered from mental degradation conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.

Co-defendant Brianna Broitzman, who faces similar charges, also pleaded not guilty to all of her charges in August. Her jury trial has been scheduled for April 2010.

The date for Ashton Larson’s jury trial was not announced.

The plea comes about a month after Freeborn County District Court Judge Steve Schwab issued a written order denying the motion made by Evan Larson to dismiss the criminal complaint about his client for lack of probable cause.