SARASOTA, Fla. -- A judge in Florida refused to dismiss charges Friday against the man accused of kidnapping and killing an eleven-year-old girl.

Carlie Brucia's abduction was caught on a car wash surveillance tape and generated heavy media coverage.

An attorney for Joseph Smith entered not guilty pleas to charges of first-degree murder, rape and kidnapping. Smith wasn't there. He had waived his right to appear at court hearings.

His public defender asked for the case to be dismissed, saying grand jurors who indicted him may have been tainted by the intense media coverage.

But a prosecutor said the defense offered no proof of that. Prosecutors have said they'll seek the death penalty againstJoseph Smith for the kidnapping, rape and murder of the girl.

Her abductionlast month attracted national attention because a security camera behind a car wash caught the sixth-grader walking home from a friend's house. The car wash was closed and Carlie was walking past as a short cut home. The video caught a man walking up to the girl, talking to her for a few seconds, then grabbing her forearm and leading her away.

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Caught On Tape: The Brucia Abduction

The child was found dead found four dayslater outside a church.

In court papers filed earlier this month, Smith's lawyer said hewants to question prospective grand jurors to ensure they wereimpartial when they considered the evidence.

The lawyer said the indictment should be dismissed if the jurorswere tainted by intense media coverage of the kidnapping. He saidanother grand jury should then review the evidence.

Smith is an unemployed mechanic with a criminal record.

State records show that Smith has been arrested at least 13 times in Florida since 1993. He was arrested in 1997 on kidnapping and false imprisonment charges -- but was acquitted a year later. Other arrests range from misdemeanor battery to felony drug possession charges.

The lawyer has suggested moving the case out of Sarasota.