A judge has reset the perjury trial of suspended Jefferson County District Attorney Charles Todd Henderson.

Elected DA Charles Henderson and Yareima Akl.

On Friday, Chilton County Circuit Judge Sibley G. Reynolds set the trial date for Oct. 16 at the Jefferson County Courthouse. Reynolds is presiding over Henderson's case after Jefferson County judges recused themselves.

Court records show the trial was originally scheduled for the week of Sept. 11, but one of Henderson's attorneys Joe Espy III immediately asked for a delay due to a conflict.

Espy is a member of the Board of Trustees of The University of Alabama System, which has meetings scheduled on September 14 and 15 in Tuscaloosa, he explained in previous court filings.

"These meetings have been scheduled for approximately two years," Espy stated. "The Defendant (Henderson) and undersigned counsel are not trying to delay the trial in any way whatsoever," he stated.

Henderson, a Democrat, won the district attorney position in the November general election when he beat long-time incumbent Republican District Attorney Brandon Falls. Days before he was to take office, Henderson was indicted on one count of perjury-- a class C felony.

The indictment charges Henderson did swear falsely and gave a false statement material to a proceeding before Judge Stephens in the case of Charbel Akl v. Yareima Carmen Valecillos Akl in 2016.

He was automatically suspended pending the outcome of the charges, and Deputy District Attorney Danny Carr has been appointed District Attorney pro-tem.

Court records show Henderson had been appointed guardian ad litem in the Akl's divorce case (at the request of Mrs. Akl) in January 2016 to represent the interests of the couple's child. In May of that year, he was removed as GAL after allegations that he was biased against the father and the mother was working on Henderson's campaign.

The focus of the perjury charge is on a portion of Henderson's testimony at the Akl's September trial when he was asked: "since she has been campaigning for you, has there been a time where you have spent the night at her apartment?" Henderson twice replied "no." Attorneys for Mr. Akl produced a private investigation report that states Henderson had stayed over at the apartment.

James Parkman, another of Henderson's attorneys, said while Ms. Akl and Henderson did "hook up" in July 2016, Henderson had already been removed as GAL in the case. He said Henderson thought the question meant whether he had a relationship with Mrs. Akl during the time he was appointed GAL.