FARGO, N.D. – A former North Dakota “Teacher of the Year” is expected to stand trial this month for an alleged sexual relationship with a student after several delays in the case.

Aaron Knodel, 36, taught English at West Fargo High School and was recognized as the 2014 North Dakota Teacher of the Year before a former student raised allegations he sexually abused her when she was a 17-year-old student at the school in 2009, the West Fargo Pioneer reports.

The victim told police the two engaged in sex acts in the teacher’s classroom, his home and her car, and Knodel was eventually charged with a total of five felonies. Knodel pleaded not guilty and the case was scheduled to proceed to trial in March, but was delayed by several motions and hearings.

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Defense attorney Robert Hoy has sought the victim’s medical records, argued to suppress as evidence notes allegedly written by Knodel to the victim, and has pushed to present a lie detector test Knodel passed as proof of his innocence.

The trial is set to start with jury selection today, the Associated Press reports.

“Among the evidence that prosecutors are expected to present are phone records showing that from Jan. 1 to March 9, 2009 – the day they say Knodel ended the relationship – there were 85 phone calls between Knodel and the girl that ranged in length from a minute to four hours,” according to the news service. “There were no calls after that date.”

Knodel was initially on paid leave, but later suspended without pay when he was charged.

The state teacher licensing board is awaiting the results of his criminal case before deciding whether to revoke his teaching license.

Hoy told the media “there are always two sides to every story” when Knodel was charged in August, but had declined comments since.

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“I don’t know why such allegations would arise now, but the passage of time makes it much more difficult for Aaron to defend himself,” Hoy said at the time. “So, until we can have an opportunity to present this case to a jury, I ask that prospective jurors keep an open mind and reserve judgement, despite the salacious allegations that have been made.”

Hoy also contends the former student’s medical records will shed light on her credibility and character, the AP reports.

Media reports do not name the victim, despite the fact that she’s now an adult.

At a hearing in March, the judge in the case rejected Hoy’s motion to suppress notes Knodel allegedly scrawled in the margins of a popular “Twilight” series vampire novel. In a prior hearing, the judge ruled a lie-detector test Hoy said his client passed will not be allowed, “unless its accuracy can be determined ahead of the trial,” KFGO.com reports.

Knodel had taught at West Fargo High School since 2004, and at Fargo Shanley High School before that.