The preliminary hearing in the case of a Howard man charged with rape and incest has been continued indefinitely.

Scott Lewis Hoy, 41, of 2726 Old 220 Road, was arrested Sept. 19 and charged with raping a minor under the age of 13, according to court documents.

He is charged with one count of rape, incest, endangering the welfare of children, and 21 counts of indecent assault for alleged actions that spanned 10 years, according to court documents.

Hoy's attorney, George Lepley, was not available for comment by press time yesterday.

Hoy's preliminary hearing, which was scheduled for today, will be continued until an unknown date. Lepley filed the continuance motion on Friday because he was unable to attend court today, an official in the court administrator's office said.

The preliminary hearing, which will determine whether there is enough evidence to send Hoy to trial, will not occur for at least another two weeks, Centre County Assistant District Attorney Karen Arnold said.

"The state trooper testifying is unavailable next week," she said. "The hearing will probably be scheduled for the week after that."

Arnold could not comment further on the case because she will not be prosecuting the defendant due to scheduling conflicts.

The district attorney's office has not yet reassigned the case, Arnold said.

According to the criminal complaint, the alleged incidents began when the victim was 8 years old, according to court documents. The victim told police Hoy would enter her bedroom at night when she was sleeping and would lie on top of her, according to court documents.

In her written statement to police, the victim said Hoy would attempt to remove her clothes and separate her legs and she would fight back.

According to court documents, the rape charge stems from an alleged incident that occurred when the victim was between 8 and 11 years old.

The victim said the alleged assault continued between the ages of 11 to 17, according to court documents. She said Hoy was unable to make any type of penetration at this time, but he regularly fondled her breasts and buttocks, according to court documents.

The victim reported the allegations to the Pennsylvania State Police in July.

Hoy also faces unrelated charges of indecent assault and corruption of minors related to incidents that allegedly occurred last April.

In a statement to police, the victim in the second case said Hoy had placed his hand down her pants and touched her genital area.

Hoy could face up to 40 years in prison if convicted of raping a child younger than 13, State College Police Sgt. Chris Fishel said.