Protection order against Halle withdrawn Tuesday
The temporary sexual violence protection order against former Butler school board member William “Bill” Halle was withdrawn Tuesday, Sept. 12, by the 18-year-old girl involved in the case.
Halle, 59, was placed under the order after he was accused of having sexual contact with the girl, who he employed and counseled at Net Outreach Center in Butler.
The order, issued April 28 by Butler County Common Pleas Judge S. Michael Yeager, was obtained by the girl’s father.
The girl was present for the Tuesday hearing represented by attorney Armand Cingolani, and each gave a statement following the proceedings.
“I one hundred and ten percent disagree with all the criminal charges, and me withdrawing (the order) should make a statement,” she said.
On May 30, Halle was criminally charged by city police in connection to the alleged intimate contact with the girl. He was charged with sexual assault by a volunteer or employee of a nonprofit, corruption of minors, criminal use of a communication facility, and unlawful contact with a minor, which are felonies.
On July 10, the girl refused to testify at Halle’s preliminary hearing on the charges before District Judge William Fullerton.
According to Cingolani, the girl refused because she didn’t want to participate in court proceedings and doesn’t want Halle to be charged.
Cingolani said Tuesday that the girl “knows and speaks her mind.”
“She’s bravely faced a lot of community pressure,” he said.
Halle’s attorney, Robert Stasa, refused to comment on Tuesday’s proceedings.