NATCHEZ — A local businessman was indicted by a grand jury Friday on nine counts of sexual battery.

James Wesley Forde, 43, 801 Myrtle Ave., was booked at the Adams County Sheriff’s Office on grand jury indictments. Forde was then released on a $450,000 bond.

Forde was originally arrested in March in connection to a reported repeated sexual assault of a 16-year-old male.

The victim’s mother reported the alleged assault to the sheriff’s office and then to the Natchez Police Department.

According to the complaint filed at the NPD in March, the alleged incidents began in May 2010, when the victim was 14.

The assaults allegedly happened at the suspect’s business — the Forde Line, a men’s clothing store — and in his car, as well as at the Natchez Little Theatre, where he has performed in a number of shows in recent years.

Natchez Little Theatre has assisted police in the investigation.

Forde was bound over to the grand jury in June, appearing before Judge Charlie Vess in Adams County Justice Court for a preliminary hearing.

When a suspect is bound over to the grand jury, the jury reviews the evidence against a defendant and determines if sufficient evidence exists to charge a defendant with a given crime. Charges can be upgraded, maintained or dropped by the grand jury.

Forde is scheduled to appear in court again on Sept. 6.