A registered sex offender pleaded not guilty Wednesday to killing 17-year-old Chelsea King, who was last seen jogging near a San Diego lake.

San Diego prosecutors charged John Albert Gardner III with one count of murder with a special circumstance allegation that the crime occurred in the commission of rape or attempted rape.

A second count of assault with intent to commit rape was filed in connection to an attack in December on another female.

Gardner, who is registered as a Lake Elsinore resident, was arrested Sunday after police said they discovered physical evidence linking him to the case.

During a brief court hearing this afternoon, Gardner, handcuffed and dressed in a jail jumpsuit, said through his attorney that he denied killing King.

Early Wednesday morning, a message was found spray-painted on the garage at the Rancho Bernardo home of Gardner’s mother. It said, “Chelsea’s blood is on you. Move out.” Police are still trying to find out who wrote it.

The home is near the park where King was last seen and down the street from an elementary school.

The Search for Chelsea

King’s family and friends conducted a huge search for the 17-year-old after her car was discovered parked last Thursday night.

On Tuesday authorities said they found a body in a shallow grave on the south shore of Lake Hodges, a lake in the park where King was last seen.

County Sheriff William Gore said the body was likely Chelsea King, although a formal identification is still pending.

Tuesday evening, King’s friends and family gathered for a candlelight vigil for the 17-year-old.

Chelsea’s father, Brent King, thanked all the supporters.

“One of the nicknames that I’ve always called my daughter is my angel. She’s my angel forever. I want to thank you. Chelsea wants to thank you,” he said on the lawn of St. Michael’s Church in Poway. 

Gardner’s Past

In 2000, Gardner was charged with molesting a 13-year-old girl at his Rancho Bernardo home.

Prosecutors said Gardner lured the girl into his home by offering to watch the film “Patch Adams.” The girl escaped, but was badly beaten.

Gardner pleaded guilty in May 2000 to molesting the girl. He had faced a maximum of 11 years in prison.

Prosecutors only asked for a six-year prison term. Gardner only had to serve five of those six years. State records show he was on parole for three years, until September 2008.

In a sentencing memo, prosecutors said Gardner “never expressed one scintilla of remorse for his attack upon the victim.”

Dr. Matthew Carroll, a psychiatrist who interviewed Gardner during the 2000 case, said he was a “continued danger to underage girls in the community” and he urged the maximum punishment of 11 years.

A colleague of Carroll’s, Dr. Mark Kalish, said Carroll was angered to hear the news of Gardner’s arrest because he felt his recommendation was ignored by the district attorney.

The district attorney’s office would not comment on the 2000 case.

December Attack

San Diego police said they had also linked Gardner to an assault on a 22-year-old Colorado woman.

The attack took place on Dec. 27 in a Rancho Bernardo park on the northern edge of San Diego, in the same area where King’s 1994 BMW was found.

Though the second charge against Gardner did not specifically mention the incident with the Colorado woman, it did mention an incident on Dec. 27.

San Diego police officials would not disclose what evidence linked Gardner to the case, but they did say a swab taken from the victim did not match Gardner’s DNA.