WASHINGTON COUNTY, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) — A former Northwest Arkansas educator and sex offender that was arrested for knowingly entering school campuses was granted a continuance in his case.

According to court documents, Dr. Mark Edward Oesterle, 49, of Fayetteville, went to a pair of Springdale public school campuses in February 2022, which is a Class D felony due to his sex offender status. He is facing four counts of being a registered offender on a school campus, which is a class D felony.

His trial was previously scheduled to begin on January 9, but Judge Mark Lindsay granted a request for a continuance and reset the date for April 5. The date has been pushed back again.

The judge signed another Order of Continuance on April 6, setting a new trial start date of August 7.

Oesterle was also named as a defendant in a sexual assault lawsuit filed by a former student. In that case, Alissa Cawood stated that when Oesterle was a vice principal at a Springdale public school, he engaged in “grooming behavior” toward her, culminating in “a pattern of sexual harassment, molestations, sexual assaults, and violations of bodily integrity.”

Oesterle pleaded guilty to one count of second-degree sexual assault in a different case in September 2021. His 2019 arrest stemmed from a 2015 complaint by a student.

He was sentenced to six years probation and fined $1,000. Oesterle was also ordered to have no contact with the victims.