A Salem man who is registered as a sex offender and served 17 years in a military prison for a rape and murder will face trial on charges he sexually molested a young girl related to him during February 2007.

George Quintero, 43, of 75 Wheeler Ave., was arrested June 10 and was charged with sexual assault and aggravated sexual assault for his Salem crimes after the Rockingham District Attorney’s office found he was being investigated by police in Medford, Mass., for allegedly assaulting the girl in that town on March 23.

Salem District Court Judge John Korbey found there was probable cause to go forward with a Superior Court trial during a hearing on Monday, June 23.

Korbey also kept Quintero’s bail at $250,000 cash after his defense attorney asked for it to be lowered to $100,000 cash or corporate surety.

According to court records, the girl’s mother reported to Medford police that the girl had been sexually assaulted in her Medford home on March 23.

During a videotaped discussion between the girl and Massachusetts Department of Social Services Child Intervention Specialist Margaret Leavitt, it came to light that Quintero had allegedly assaulted her previously in his Salem home.

According to Salem police Detective Michael Kelly, who testified at Quintero’s probable cause hearing, the girl had been spending the night at Quintero’s house sometime between Feb. 1 and Feb. 28, 2007.

Quintero allegedly brought the girl downstairs in his Wheeler Avenue home while his girlfriend slept upstairs, lay down next to her and molested her.

Quintero’s girlfriend was not interviewed, Kelly said on the stand, because she had been asleep and was completely unaware of the assault.

Kelly said Salem police initially called Quintero at home and asked if he could come to the station, saying they wanted to talk to him about his sex offender registration.

Quintero allegedly told police he would check with his lawyer first, and called back later saying his lawyer had told him not to go to the police station. The department then began gathering information for a warrant to arrest Quintero.

Kelly added that Quintero “lawyered up” before Medford police could interview him on their charges, but said a Department of Social Services investigator did interview Quintero, who allegedly told the investigator that the girl had made up the story. Quintero’s defense attorney, Malfitani Joseph, argued Kelly’s testimony contained several layers of hearsay that should not be admissible. Judge Korbey overruled the objection, saying hearsay was allowed in a probable cause hearing.

Joseph requested the lower bail, saying Quintero had been gainfully employed since getting paroled from prison in 2001, but the judge denied it.

According to court records, Quintero was convicted of the rape and murder of a woman in Germany while he was serving in the military in 1984, and served 17 years out of a 24-year sentence.

Since his May 2001 parole, Quintero has held several jobs including working as a fitness trainer at various health clubs, installing cable for Comcast and most recently working as a contractor for the Derry-based dish network Ten Points.

His sex offender registration has been kept up to date since then, said Salem police and Quintero’s defense attorneys.