Joey Dauben,publisher of the now-defunct Ellis County Observer, finally got to see a court-appointed lawyer this week in connection with three felony counts of child abuse involving a 15-year-old male teenager after almost two-months' confinement in the Navarro County Jail without legal representation. Edward Jendrzey, an attorney from Waxahachie in Ellis County, confirmed he has accepted Dauben's case. The first attorney appointed by District Court Judge James Lagomarsino declined to accept the journalist's case. Dauben's plight gained attention after he reached out to the media in a handwritten letter from jail. All criminal defendants are entitled to a court-appointed attorney within 72 hours of their declaration of being indigent and requesting an attorney. Judge Lagomarsino's staff said Dauben's request was not received until Feb. 13, but the Corsicana Daily Sun reported the journalist filled out the paperwork during his arraignment on Dec. 20. Jendrzey said Dauben, who has maintained his innocence of the charges which involve a 19-year-old teenager who was 15 at the time the incident allegedly took place four years ago, is aware he is taking the case. The lawyer said his first step in representing Dauben will be to conduct an independent investigation of the facts and to attempt to get the bond lowered. Judge Lagomarsino set Dauben's bail at $200,000, and his family and friends have been unable to raise the 10 percent payment of $20,000 bonding agencies require to get a defendant released. Jendrzey said he will also be researching the issue of whether Dauben can get a fair trial in Navarro County in light of the publisher's high-profile reputation as an unorthodox journalist. Dauben has made numerous enemies, and many of the subjects of his reporting claim he was unfair and reckless in his pursuit of stories. In a blog post on Frontburner this week, D Magazine publisher Wick Allison wrote that Dauben's confinement in jail without legal counsel for almost two months may raise issues about the fairness and competence of the Navarro County judicial system. Lagomarsino's staff said the original request for representation never reached the judge, and that Navarro County does not have an indigent defense coordinator charged with the responsibility to make sure all jailed defendants have a lawyer. Jendrzey said he would be considering what sort of impact, if any, the absence of legal counsel has had on Dauben's case. Dauben's arrest in December was widely reported by the Dallas media and all of the small newspapers in the counties south of Dallas, including the Cedar Creek Lake area. So far, only the Waxahachie Light has followed up on Dauben's story. The Waxahachie Light reported Jendzrey's appointment as Dauben's attorney, but it made no mention of the delay being unusual or illegal. It borrowed heavily from the Corsicana Daily Sun report on Dauben's arraignment, but made no mention of Dauben declaring he was indigent and filling out paperwork for a court-appointed attorney, which was reported by the Corsicana newspaper. Dauben, 31, is accused of engaging in oral and anal sex with a 15-year-old male teenager on a church trip in 2007. He has been in custody since his arrest Dec. 19 by the Texas Rangers, who investigated the allegations of the now 19-year-old teenager. The publisher has claimed that the charges against him are part of a conspiracy orchestrated by enemies who want to stop him from working. Several of Dauben's friends have said that Dauben is to the best of their knowledge heterosexual, and that he has always showed interest in women and dated women. There was never any speculation that he was gay by his friends and business associates,they said. Dauben has said that his religious beliefs make him opposed to same-sex marriage, but that he is tolerant of LGBT people. He noted that his views were less accepting until he got to know gay and lesbian people while working on a political campaign with them in New Hampshire several years ago. Dauben describes himself as a Torah-observant Messanic Christian, which is a religion based on the Old Testament.