Two Vernon County residents are facing federal charges of conspiring to distribute cocaine and distributing cocaine.

A sealed indictment was returned by a grand jury in Madison on April 23 accusing Lyle I. Dank, 51, and Marilyn K. Seidel, 40 of the charges. They were arrested on Tuesday, April 29.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy O’Shea, who is handling the prosecution of the case, said the Vernon County Sheriff’s Department handled the entire investigation into the matter. O’Shea said the investigation began in January and continued into April. Due to the nature of federal indictments, no details are available regarding the investigation.

“Outside of the charges, the details are not yet a matter of public record,” O’Shea said. He added that this is consistent with almost all federal prosecutions.

If convicted, Dank and Seidel face 20 years in prison on each count and a $1 million fine.

Both Dank and Seidel were arraigned in federal court on Friday and entered not guilty pleas. U.S. Magistrate Judge Theresa Owens set a trial date for the pair for Aug. 18. Dank and Seidel are being detained pending trial. A pre-trial conference in the case has been scheduled for July 10, O’Shea said.

According to the state’s circuit court computer database, Dank previously spent 10 years in state prison on sexual assault charges. He was released in 2004. When prosecuted on those charges, Dank was already being prosecuted as a habitual criminal. Dank's last recorded Vernon County address according to the state's sex offender database was in Westby.

Seidel served 18 months in state prison for possession of cocaine from a case in 2001 and has been previously tried as a habitual criminal. She was also convicted of felony drug charges in 1995. Seidel's address listed in a court document in February of this year was rural Viroqua.