SYCAMORE – The man accused in the 1957 kidnapping and murder of a 7-year-old Sycamore girl said he was not guilty during his arraignment Thursday morning.

Jack D. McCullough , 71, entered his not guilty plea during a court hearing at the DeKalb County Courthouse in Sycamore. He appeared via closed-circuit TV from the DeKalb County Jail. An arraignment is a formal reading of the charges that a person faces; it is also often the time when a suspect enters a plea.

On Aug. 19, McCullough was indicted by a grand jury on charges of murder, kidnapping and abduction of an infant. He is accused of kidnapping and killing Maria Ridulph, who was abducted near her Sycamore home Dec. 3, 1957 near the corner of Center Cross Street and Archie Place.