Butler County District Attorney Richard Goldinger has nixed a deal reached between one of his assistants and the attorney for a man accused of child molestation at the day care center that his wife operates.

The deal was for defendant Roger L. Young, 65, of Oakland Township to take a polygraph test with the results to determine if the case against him should proceed or be dropped.

“I am not going to honor the agreement made at (Tuesday’s) preliminary hearing,” Goldinger said this morning. “I had no idea it was made, and I wasn’t consulted about it or asked if it was acceptable to me.”

Goldinger’s decision means the preliminary hearing for Young is back on. A new date was not immediately set.

State police have accused Young of inappropriately touching two girls, ages 3 and 4, at the Patti Cake Child Care Center in 2010.

He is charged with two felony counts of corruption of minors and two misdemeanor counts of indecent assault.

Young’s hearing, which was set for Tuesday at the office of District Judge Lewis Stoughton in Chicora, was continued after attorneys for both sides agreed to the unusual deal.

Russ Karl, county assistant district attorney, later discussed the deal which he acknowledged that he initially proposed to Young’s attorney, Michael Zunder.

“If (Young) passes the polygraph, the charges will be withdrawn,” Karl said. “If he fails, he waives the charges to court.”

State police would administer the polygraph exam. While results of polygraphs are not admissible in court, they are used by investigators to gather information.

“The agreement is not appropriate and doesn’t achieve justice for the victims in the alleged crime,” Goldinger said.

Police in August arrested Young for allegedly fondling the two girls at the day care center his wife, Patti, owns at the couple’s home on Route 68.

During their investigation, police reviewed video surveillance from the day care that showed Young assaulting the girls, according to court documents.

Investigators said that in one instance, Young is seen touching a girl while she is lying down, and in another, he is seen lifting a girl’s shirt and touching her inappropriately.

Goldinger said he first learned of Tuesday’s deal about 9 a.m. Wednesday, while speaking to a representative of the crime victim’s advocate office.

He said he was immediately troubled by the agreement and later that day met with the investigating trooper to review the facts of the case.

“That convinced me that I wasn’t going to honor the agreement,” Goldinger said.

He eventually met with Karl.

“(Karl) explained to me why he did what he did,” Goldinger said. He declined to disclose details of their conversation.

The Butler Eagle could not reach Karl for comment this morning.

Goldinger told Karl of his decision to quash the deal. He then notified Zunder of his decision.

Zunder did not return a telephone call this morning.

While Goldinger said his assistants have “some latitude” to make deals at the preliminary level, in more serious cases, he expects to be consulted.

“Something of this magnitude,” he said, referring to the Young case, “I’d like to know about it. This (case) should not have been resolved at the preliminary hearing. It’s something you just don’t get rid of at that stage.”

“I think there’s sufficient evidence for these charges to proceed (to court).”

He said his assistants should be careful when making deals.

“Any actions they do at those hearings,” Goldinger said, “has my name attached to it.”