POP/ROCK - May 20, 1992

An Innocent Plea: Soul singer Billy Preston has pleaded not guilty to seven sex, drug and assault charges involving an alleged tryst with a 16-year-old boy. He faces up to six years in prison if convicted. Preston, 45, entered the pleas in Los Angeles County Superior Court and was ordered to return June 26 for a pretrial hearing. He remained free on $25,000 bail. The entertainer was arrested last August in Malibu after a 16-year-old boy told sheriff’s deputies that Preston showed him sexually explicit photos and tried to assault him.