ROCKLAND – A Camden man pleaded not guilty Thursday to charges that he sexually assaulted a 1-year-old infant girl in September.

During his arraignment in Knox County Superior Court, William Delgado, 35, answered “not guilty” to each charge as they were read by the court clerk. He is accused of one count of unlawful sexual contact and two counts of aggravated assault, all Class B crimes that carry a penalty of up to 10 years in prison.

Court-appointed defense attorney William Pagnano of Rockland asked the judge to allow him to present arguments at a later date to reduce Delgado’s bail based on his client having no significant criminal record. The prosecution and defense have 21 days to file motions in the case.

Justice Donald Marden continued bail at $100,000 double-surety, or $50,000 cash, with conditions that he have no contact with the victim or her immediate family and that he have no unsupervised contact with any child under the age of 16. Since his arrest, Delgado has been held at Knox County Jail pending bail.

When Delgado was first arrested, he was charged with one count of gross sexual assault, which was changed to one count each of unlawful sexual contact and aggravated assault when he made his initial appearance Sept. 19 in 6th District Court.

In November, a grand jury indicted Delgado on the most recent charges. On Sept. 17, the infant victim was taken to Penobscot Bay Medical Center for her injuries and later was taken to Maine Medical Center in Portland, where she underwent surgery, according to court records.

At the time of the assault, Delgado and his wife were baby-sitting the victim. The infant’s mother had left the child with the couple, who have two children of their own, according to court records.

An affidavit states that Delgado’s wife left the home for a short time to do laundry, leaving her husband with the infant. When she returned, the infant was “fussing.” Delgado told his wife that he changed the baby and noticed a small amount of blood in her diaper. When he changed her again, there was more blood.

The child then was taken to the emergency room.

According to court records, Delgado told detectives that he may have been “rough or violent” with the child.