Two Millburn High School students pleaded not guilty Tuesday to assault charges filed by the wife of a minister who himself was accused of attacking an MHS student with a baseball bat.

MHS students Adam Brender and Roger McGlynn appeared in municipal court with their attorneys to be read their rights and hear the charges against them. A third person, Jerome Miller, a township resident, did not show up. The judge gave him one more week to appear in court or else have a warrant issued for his arrest on charges of failure to answer a summons.

All three, who are white, are accused of assaulting the 15-year-old son of Rev. Darryl George, who is black. On Jan. 9, Rev. George and his oldest son, Lamar, were arrested and charged with striking a student with a baseball bat in the parking lot at the high school. The student was treated for minor injuries at Overlook Hospital and later released.

The minister claimed he took action only to defend his youngest son, who he claimed had been taunted and assaulted by other students over the course of several days. The complaint against McGlynn says the assault for which he is charged occurred Jan. 8, while the Brender and Miller complaints list the date of their alleged attacks as Jan. 9.

An Essex County grand jury refused to indict Rev. George or his older son last month on the assault charges, although his 15-year-old son still faces a juvenile court hearing. An attorney for the youngest son told Millburn Patch last month he intends to sue the Millburn Board of Education for expelling the 15-year-old for his role in the incident.

But before the grand jury action, the minister's wife, Brenda Barnes-George, filed simple assault charges against Brender, McGlynn and Miller, and three other students, who are all juveniles. 

The complaint against McGlynn claims that he committed simple assault on a juvenile "by forcefully pushing him during a confrontation, and did later on that day use his fingers to attack victim's eyes causing temporary blurred vision doing so with the intent to cause bodily harm." The complaint filed against Brender claims he committed simple assault upon a juvenile "by throwing him to the ground and hitting him."

Miller is accused of simple assault by "placing him in a front choke hold, pushing him, calling him a 'mother-f*cker' and saying 'Let's fight.'"

No trial date has been set for McGlynn, Brender or Miller. Charges against the juveniles will be heard in juvenile court.

While Rev. George and his wife were at the court hearing, they made no statements.