Former Butler school board member William “Bill” Halle waived his formal arraignment on charges of sexual assault Tuesday afternoon, Aug. 29.

Halle, 58, was charged May 30 by city police for alleged intimate contact with a 17-year-old girl, who he employed and counseled at Net Outreach Center in Butler. Net Outreach is connected to Grace Youth and Family Foundation, which Halle founded in 1994.

By waiving arraignment, he did not appear before Butler County Common Pleas Judge Maura Palumbi.

Halle is charged with felonies 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. Those charges were moved forward to common pleas court following his preliminary hearing July 10.

At that hearing, the girl refused to testify against Halle. Her attorney, Armand Cingolani, said the girl sees Halle as a “good friend” and doesn’t want to see him charged.

The charges against Halle came about following a ChildLine report filed May 1 stating he was seen being intimate with the girl while sitting on a street curb near her home in Butler Township. Documents showed the girl’s father later discovered text messages between her and Halle that were sexual in nature.

The girl later disclosed having sexual relations with Halle at the Net Outreach center at 100 Center Ave., police said. The address is listed as Halle’s home address in court documents.