Christopher Floyd, who remains in custody on $2 million bail on a criminal complaint filed by the state containing 47 allegations of sexual misconduct against minor boys, appeared in Justice Court Thursday and Friday as his preliminary hearing drew to a close.

Judge Richard Glasson of Douglas County, who has presided over the proceedings since they began on Oct. 9, found there was sufficient evidence presented over the course of the five days of testimony by prosecution witnesses to bind Floyd over to district court for a jury trial.

In fact, the judge ruled that each of the 47 charges was legitimate, despite argument from Floyd's attorney, C. Conrad Clause of Las Vegas.

Floyd did not take the witness stand during the preliminary hearing. Over the course of the previous three hearing dates, Chief Deputy District Attorney Kirk Vitto called the alleged victims named in the State's complaint to testify. He also called one of the boys' mothers and one of the fathers. Dr. Becky Grgich, a psychologist experienced in treating children subject to pedophilia, also took the stand.

Thursday, the 16-year old witness, Sam (not his real name), who had previously spent many hours testifying, briefly took the stand.

Vitto asked Sam if he had gone out to the dry creek bed near Pahrump since he was last in court Oct. 17. The witness said he had taken his mom and several other people "to a spot two miles in -- to the exact spot."

The spot refers to a location where an abusive act allegedly took place and was significant in the day's testimony as GPS coordinates of many locations in Nye and Clark County were surveyed and photographed.

Coordinates for hotels in Ely and Panguitch, and two locations in Utah, were laid over digitized U.S.G.S. maps by Sam Musselman, engineering technician in the Nye County Public Works Department. Musselman said the information "aligns up where the location is in the world."

The maps were entered into evidence over the objections of the defense attorney who questioned Musselman's expertise in creating the maps. He also questioned the reliability of the hotel Web sites used to verify that the hotels existed, after the judge pulled them up on the laptop he keeps at his dais.

Glasson had used his laptop previously to access maps of general areas referenced by witnesses. The objections were entered into the record, but overruled.

Seventeen of the allegations against Floyd are for acts he reportedly committed against Sam when the boy was 12 years old.

A dozen more charges are for alleged acts when Sam was 13 years old, five charges are for conduct allegedly committed by the defendant against Sam when he was 14 years old, with four additional charges while Sam was 15.

Two charges were for conduct committed this year, when Sam turned 16. The final two counts charge Floyd with child abuse and neglect, encompassing acts from September 2004 to May 2008, for a total of 42 counts involving Sam over the four-year period.

The remaining five counts considered in the preliminary hearing involve two other boys, one of whom died from an overdose of prescription medication and other drugs shortly after giving a statement to Nye County Sheriff's Det. Alexandra MacNeil, who interviewed the victim regarding alleged sexual acts by the defendant. Her testimony was disallowed after Floyd's lawyer objected.

The victims in this case are related to each other and gather for family events such as birthdays, casually hang out at a backyard fire pit in the evenings and share a love of the outdoors. They camp together, fish, hunt, ride ATVs and have easy access to family homes -- including the defendant's home, which at the time the alleged acts began, was across the road from the main family gathering place.

As the young witnesses testified, it was revealed that the alleged sexual acts were kept secret by each boy, in part because Floyd was accepted as part of their large family and they loved him.

"He was like a big kid," said one witness.

At times he was a confidant and parental figure, listening to each boy when he had problems, giving him money as gifts for birthdays or to help out in emergencies without asking for repayment and paying for overnight hunting, fishing and camping trips.

At the same time, he was a permissive friend, allegedly offering the underage boys beer, whisky and chewing tobacco and showing them pornographic videos.

For years, Floyd worked with and was the best friend of one of the boy's fathers, who testified that, "We were tight. We were together every day."

The boys who told him to unconditionally stop lost their best friend as well as the trips, gifts and money. Vitto summarized his case Thursday afternoon, speaking for the better part of an hour and saying Floyd "systematically cultivated his victims like a gardener, readying the tender fruit to pluck as it matures."

On Friday, the final day of the hearing, Clause summarized his objections to the case presented by Vitto. He questioned the court's jurisdiction over crimes committed outside Nye County and said many of the 47 charges were redundant and should be combined.

Clause also argued that should the case go to a jury, "It is my strong suspicion perjury will be established because there has been a lot of communication going on outside the courtroom and I don't want to further cloud ... issues."

From what Clause said, consent will also be an issue debated in front of a jury; although both attorneys mentioned more than once, "if the case goes to trial." Clause contended that after initially saying "no" to Floyd's alleged behavior, Sam's continuing participation in what was described as hundreds of incidents over a four-year time frame was consensual.

Vitto countered that consent cannot be given when an adult entices or solicits a minor. He also pointed out the size difference between a 350-pound man and a 12-year old boy.

The defense argued that, if there were crimes, they were crimes of opportunity -- of Floyd finding himself alone with a child -- not intent.

No date has been set for a jury trial as of this time.