Ja Rule pleads not guilty

American rapper Ja Rule will plead not guilty to assault charges filed by Toronto police, says his lawyer.

"You can underline that three times," Steven Skurka said outside court after setting a pretrial date for October 6.

The 28-year-old performer, whose real name is Jeffrey Atkins, did not attend.

The star, who lives in New Jersey but had been frequenting Toronto for film shoots, was charged with assault causing bodily harm. Authorities would say only that the charge stems from an incident at a Toronto nightclub. No more information was available because of a court ban on publishing details from preliminary hearings in Canada.

Skurka said he expects the case will go to trial in early 2005.

The lyricist is best known for hits like Holla, Holla and duets with Jennifer Lopez (I'm Real) and Ashanti (Always on Time).