NEW BEDFORD, Mass. — A lawyer who for weeks has publicly defended himself against reports he was a suspect in a serial killing investigation was charged Monday with one of the nine slayings.

Kenneth C. Ponte, 40, who now lives in Port Richey, Fla., entered a plea in court that he was “absolutely not guilty.” Bail was set at $500,000 surety or $50,000 cash, and Ponte was released after his mother posted her home.

The indictment charging Ponte with murder was filed last week but was sealed to give authorities time to notify victims’ relatives. It accused Ponte of the beating death of Rochelle Clifford Dopierla, and said she was beaten and died on April 27, 1988.

She is one of nine women whose bodies were found near this southeastern Massachusetts community between July 1988 and April 1989. Two other women are missing and presumed to be victims. All had histories of drug use and some were prostitutes.

Bristol County District Attorney Ronald Pina declined to say whether Ponte was a suspect in the other slayings. But court documents show that authorities believe he had a personal relationship with at least three victims.

Several relatives of victims were in court when Ponte entered his plea.

One of them, Chandra Greenlaw, the daughter of a victim, said later of Ponte: “I want to see him hanged.”

Ponte’s attorney, Kevin Reddington, complained of the negative publicity Ponte has lived under while his name has been in circulation as a suspect.

“This man has been under more intense pressure for the past six months than anyone I can imagine,” said Reddington.

Ponte remained silent for months, but in recent weeks has given several lengthy interviews to reporters, insisting he is the victim of a witch hunt.

“Mr. Ponte welcomes a trial,” Reddington said. “He needs a trial to clear his name.”

Ponte also is awaiting trial on other indictments. Earlier this year, he was charged with three counts of conspiracy to possess cocaine. Last year, he was charged with assault with a dangerous weapon in connection with a 1988 fight with a man.

Pina told Superior Court Judge George Hurd that Ponte “crossed the line from the legal community and became a member of the drug community.”

“This man went into a drug world, he recruited women, he used them to purchase his drugs, he brought them into his home,” Pina said.

Dopierla was one such woman and she was planning to expose Ponte’s drug activities, Pina said.

“The motive was to get rid of a witness,” he said.

After the hearing, Ponte echoed the comments of his attorney.

“I just want to say it’s been a two-year-long nightmare for me so far,” said Ponte. He said his indictment was “simply political showmanship on the part of Ron Pina,” who is up for re-election this year.

Pina, seeking his fourth term, faces a Sept. 18 Democratic primary challenge by New Bedford lawyer Paul F. Walsh Jr., who has accused Pina of political motivation in his handling of the case.

Pina denied any political motive in the timing of the indictments, saying of the grand jury: “They don’t work for me.” The 21-member panel began meeting in March 1989.

It was Pina who, in 1984, prosecuted the widely publicized “Big Dan’s” rape trial, involving a 1983 gang rape at a tavern of that name in New Bedford. Four were convicted; two were acquitted of charges they cheered during the attack. The story was later made into a movie.