A Kentucky man accused of kidnapping and sexually assaulting a Wheeling girl wants his trial on state charges to be moved out of Ohio County.

Joshua Ridings' attorney, Christopher Sheetz, filed a change of venue motion this week in Ohio County Circuit Court. Sheetz' motion cites publicity surrounding the case.

Ridings is accused of taking the girl from Wheeling into Belmont County, Ohio, and sexually assaulting her in February 2007. The girl was 11 at the time.

Ridings, of Owensboro, Kenticky, pleaded guilty in October to a federal charge of crossing a state line with the intent to engage in a sexual act with a person under the age of 12. He was sentenced in January to 40 years in prison on the federal charge.