IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) - A judge in the trial of a man charged with kidnapping and killing a 10-year-old Cedar Rapids girl says the case must be moved to another location because of intense media coverage. "The Court is not critical of the media coverage given to this case, but finds that its sheer volume makes the prospect of picking a fair jury in this county unusually difficult," District Judge Patrick Grady wrote in his ruling. Defense attorney Peter Persaud suggested that the trial be held in Council Bluffs, where newspaper, television and radio reports about the case have been far fewer than in the Cedar Rapids-Iowa City market. Grady's ruling said he would name a location later this month. Roger Bentley, 37, of Brandon, is charged with kidnapping and first-degree murder in the death of Jetseta Gage, who was snatched from her home March 24. Her body was found the following day in an abandoned mobile home in rural Johnson County. Jetseta's mother, Trena Gage, described Bentley as a family friend, the older brother of former boyfriend James Bentley, 33, and someone she hired occasionally to perform mechanical and other jobs around the house. At the time Jetseta disappeared, James Bentley was in jail awaiting trial on second-degree sexual assault charges involving Jetseta. He since has asked judges to toss out Jetseta's videotaped testimony, claiming it would violate his 6th Amendment right to confront his accuser. Roger Bentley was on the state's Sex Offender Registry. He had been convicted in 1994 of lascivious acts with a child, but had served just half his five-year term, had refused treatment and was released without supervision. Persaud said the case has generated an extraordinary amount of media coverage, from Bentley's own court appearances to efforts by state lawmakers to toughen Iowa laws governing sex offenders in the wake of Bentley's arrest. A defense investigator testified Thursday that at least one newspaper had mentioned Bentley's or Gage's names 110 times in the 93 days since the incident, and at least one Cedar Rapids TV station mentioned those names 500 times. By comparison, the names have appeared just 29 times in The Daily Nonpareil in Council Bluffs, investigator Steven Exley-Schuman testified. "Obviously this case has generated an enormous amount of publicity," Persaud told Grady. "We have to presume there is prejudice." But Johnson County Attorney J. Patrick White disagreed. He said the law doesn't entitle criminal defendants to a venue change unless it can be shown a prejudice exists in the community. "I have enough confidence in the residents of Johnson County that a fair and impartial jury can be found," said White, who urged the judge to keep the trial in eastern Iowa. Roger Bentley's trial is scheduled for June 27, but Grady gave attorneys until that day to file briefs on media coverage in other markets.

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