A candidate for the state House race in West Maui was being held in jail Thursday, charged with multiple counts of sexual assault involving a minor.

Chayne M. Marten, 64, was being held on $650,000 bail at the Maui Community Correctional Center.

Martin pleaded not guilty to the charges when he appeared in court Wednesday. He was scheduled to appear at a bail hearing before Judge Richard Bissen at 1:30 p.m. today.

According to court documents filed as a Family Court case, if Marten is granted bail, he is not to communicate with the minor female complaining witness.

The charges include five counts of first-degree sexual assault and three counts of third-degree sexual assault. The first-degree sexual assault charges involve sexual contact with a minor under 14 years of age.

A bench warrant was issued after Marten was indicted Oct. 7. His trial is scheduled tentatively for Dec. 1.

Marten, a Republican, ran unsuccessfully against state Rep. Angus McKelvey in 2012 and 2014. In both races Marten received 29 percent of the vote, while McKelvey (D, Lahaina-Kaanapali-Honokohau) got slightly more than 60 percent. He is running against McKelvey for the third time.

In a recent interview with the Honolulu Star-Advertiser about his candidacy, Marten said he began running for public office to obtain a platform to speak about public safety issues. He said his platform now also emphasizes trimming spending tied to school construction and increasing salaries for teachers.