MANDAN, N.D. - A pipeline protester criminally charged with abusing her elderly mother at the Oceti Sakowin camp pleaded not guilty in court Monday, Feb. 27.

Kathleen Bennett, 58, of Las Vegas, is accused of taking her 82-year-old mother, who suffers from dementia, to the camps as blizzards pummeled the area from October to December. According to police, she would leave her mom tied to a chair while she attended protests and on one occasion, left her without pants in her own feces.

The allegations were reported to authorities after the elderly woman was hospitalized during a blizzard on Dec. 17. Medical staff found her frail, malnourished and lacking mental faculties, Morton County Sheriff's Department Deputy Josh Selle testified at a preliminary hearing Monday afternoon.

The case relies on the testimony of Bill Running Fisher, member of the Gros Ventre Tribe and owner of a security firm working with the veterans who came to the Dakota Access Pipeline protest in early December, Melanie Stoneman, a women's advocate at the camp, and camp medics.

Bennett's attorney Donald Sauviac indicated in court Monday he would challenge the credibility of the people who detailed the alleged abuse to authorities. Sauviac commented that some of the evidence came from people with indirect knowledge of the treatment. He also implied the key witnesses had criminal histories that had not been investigated by the police.

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In addition to this case, Bennett has also been charged with exploitation of a vulnerable adult. A complaint filed in Burleigh County alleges Bennett used about $1,200 of her mother's money without consent to rent hotel rooms, buy meals and pay legal fees in Bismarck while her mom was in the hospital.

The elderly mother still resides in a hospital due to her dementia, Stoneman said in a phone interview Monday afternoon. Stoneman has been appointed co-guardian along with the victim's two sons. She said they are working to find a nursing home placement for her in New Mexico where most of her family resides.

South Central District Judge Thomas Schneider found probable cause in the abuse case Monday afternoon and will schedule a two-day jury trial. Bennett has not yet appeared in court on the exploitation case.

If convicted on both charges, Bennett could face up to 15 years in prison.

She is being held at the Morton County Correctional Center on $10,000 bond.