Former Henry County Sheriff Frank Cassell will stand trial on federal charges in Roanoke after a judge denied his motion for a venue change Monday.

U.S. District Judge James Turk wrote in an opinion that publicity in the corruption case since an October indictment has not been "so prejudicial that trial proceedings must be presumed to be tainted."

Defense attorneys John Lichtenstein and John Fishwick Jr. asked for the venue change last week. They are defending Cassell against charges of obstruction, making false statements, money laundering and concealment of a felony.

Twelve other current and former deputies of the sheriff's office also were indicted, along with seven civilians. At the center of the case was a conspiracy to steal drugs from evidence and sell them in the community, officials said.

Thirteen defendants have pleaded guilty in the case so far, including Cassell's second in command, former Maj. James Harold Keaton.

Lichtenstein told Turk last week that media coverage in the case has been "massive, concentrated and highly prejudicial." He gave Turk a thick file of samples, including newspaper articles, television reports and Internet coverage.

Turk wrote in his opinion that most of the headlines of questionable accuracy came from the Internet, and because the Internet is available throughout Virginia and beyond, a change of venue will not ensure that prospective jurors have not seen the coverage.

Also, the Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit has decided that the sheer volume of publicity alone is not enough to deny a defendant a fair trial, Turk wrote.

Cassell is scheduled to stand trial in June. If an impartial jury cannot be seated, Turk said he will reconsider the change-of-venue motion.

"Our motion is always an effort to secure a fair trial," Lichtenstein said. "We felt this was a case where the court could move it for all the reasons we argued."