Joran van der Sloot pleads 'not guilty' to federal charges of extortion, wire fraud
Joran van der Sloot, the main suspect in the disappearance of Natalee Holloway, pleaded "not guilty" to federal charges Friday.
Van der Sloot is charged with one count of extortion and one count of wire fraud against her mother, Bethany Holloway.
The arraignment took place at 11 a.m. at the Hugo L. Black United States Courthouse.
Van der Sloot arrived just before 8 a.m. at the Hugo L. Black United States Courthouse for his arraignment which was scheduled for 11 a.m.
Video below: Joran van der Sloot arrives at courthouse
The Dutch native was escorted in wearing handcuffs, a white Michael Jordan T-shirt and jeans.
Holloway's mother, Beth, father, Dave and brother, Matt, were sitting a few feet away from the suspect. Beth Holloway's determined expression never waivered as she watched van der Sloot shuffle into the courtroom.
The entire hearing lasted less than five minutes.
At the beginning, the suspect turned down the services of a Dutch translator.
"My English is actually pretty perfect," van der Sloot said.
Judge Gray Boden asked him if he understood all of his Constitutional rights and the extortion and wire charges against him.
"Yes sir," van der Sloot replied each time.
He waived a reading of his two-count indictment and pleaded not guilty through his attorney, Kevin Butler.
The prosecution asked that van der Sloot remain in U.S. custody because of the treaty it has with Peru, where he still faces the rest of his sentence in a murder case.
He was held at Hoover City Jail Thursday night but was moved to Shelby County Jail after the arraignment.
Natalee Holloway, of Mountain Brook, Alabama, went on a high school graduation trip to Aruba in 2005. She was 18 years old. She never showed up for the return flight home.
Her classmates said they last saw her with Joran van der Sloot, who was 17 at the time, and two others as they left a club.
The three said they dropped her off at a hotel. They were questioned and detained but freed because of a lack of evidence.
Van der Sloot contacted a cooperating witness via email in 2010. He told them that he would accept $250,000 from Holloway's family in exchange for promising to lead them to her body, identifying the people involved in her death and explaining the circumstances of what happened.
He modified his offer so that he would accept the first $25,000 to take the witness to her body, and then on recovery, he would receive the rest of the money.
The first $10,000 was given in cash 鈥� with another $15,000 wired. This is the basis for the wire fraud charge.
Read the full affidavit below.
He has not been charged in her disappearance.
This is a developing story and will be updated as information becomes available.