Ontario's Amber Alert system will be changed in the wake of criticism of the police response to (Family photo)One of the two people charged in the death of eight-year-old Victoria Stafford plans to plead not guilty, according to his lawyer.

Michael Rafferty "will certainly be pleading not guilty," said lawyer Dirk Derstine, whose client made a court appearance Friday morning in Woodstock, Ont., via video link from a London detention centre.

Rafferty, 28, and Terri-Lynne McClintic, 19, have each been charged with first-degree murder and kidnapping.

Victoria, also known as Tori, went missing last April. A security camera videotaped her leaving her elementary school with a woman on April 8 in Woodstock, a city west of Hamilton.

Police searched for the girl for more than a month. That ended in late May when officers arrested Rafferty and McClintic and charged them.

In late July, Stafford's remains were found in an area near the small farming community of Mount Forest, about 95 kilometres north of Woodstock. Forensic scientists in Toronto identified her using dental records.

Terri-Lynne McClintic and Michael Rafferty were each charged with first-degree murder and kidnapping in Victoria Stafford's death. (CBC)There's an enormous amount of evidence, including more than 2,000 statements from various civilians, to go through before the case proceeds, Derstine said.

He said he expects to see a preliminary inquiry next year, but added that a trial might not begin until 2011.

Rafferty is expected to appear in court again Sept. 25.

With files from The Canadian Press