A Butler man being held in Butler County Prison for allegedly raping a 15-year-old girl multiple times last summer has a mild intellectual disability and must be educated in the legal process in which he now finds himself entangled, according to expert testimony presented in court Wednesday.

On July 12, Curtis Mayernik, a Pittsburgh-based psychiatrist who specializes in competency evaluations, visited Brandon F. Moore at the Butler County Prison to determine his mental competency to stand trial. He determined that Moore is unable to be tried until he brushes up on criminal legal proceedings.

“To be honest, this is uncharted territory for me. We didn't know what the evaluation would find,” said Maura Palumbi, Moore's public defender.

Moore is charged with rape, statutory sexual assault, corruption of minors and misdemeanor charges of terroristic threats, indecent assault and simple assault.

Mayernik concluded that with some education on the judicial system, Moore would be ready to stand trial.

The prosecutor, Assistant District Attorney Mark Lope, and Palumbi agreed with this conclusion, resolving to prepare Moore for trial. Judge William Shaffer, presiding over the case, will make a decision at some point.

During Mayernik's testimony on Wednesday, he described Moore during their July meeting as someone who was “fluent, organized and able to be specific about many things.”

Mayernik said that Moore recounted a history of paranoia and homelessness for many years. Mayernik determined that Moore has two mental issues.

One is a slight intellectual disability and the other is a “nonspecific” psychotic disorder that Mayernik determined wouldn't get in the way of Moore's understanding.

Mayernik determined he would need special attention to understanding his situation.

“I don't know if this is something I'd be doing independently or if we'd get help from the outside,” Palumbi said, adding that in the regular course of her work with her clients, she helps them understand the legal system and guides them through the process, but with someone like Moore, more help is needed given his mental limitations.

Mayernik said Moore claimed to have an internal voice that was “mostly positive,” and he claimed to see apparitions. At the jail, Moore is taking Prozac, a mood stabilizer, and olanzapine, a mood stabilizer and antipsychotic.

“It's not clear there was a legitimate need for them,” Mayernik said. “Sometimes, persons are not educated on what they're taking, especially people with extensive addiction history, like he has, and they'll take anything you give them. I felt strongly that he needed to be educated. I don't think he had a full understanding, but he can learn what's necessary to face these charges.”

Mayernik couldn't determine how long it would take Moore to reach a level of understanding, but said the process can't be completed if the defendant doesn't want to learn.

“I cannot stress this enough, he has to be a willing participant. If not, he could obfuscate (the process),” Mayernik said. “He seems to be disinterested in the judicial process. He wanted, as most do, for the charges to just be dropped and that's why he brought up the voices and the visions.”

Moore remains in the Butler County Prison in lieu of $10,000 bail. During Wednesday's hearing, he sat quietly handcuffed with chained feet in the jury box.

According to police, the investigation into Moore's alleged crimes began after state police notified Butler police about the girl's allegations, which surfaced Dec. 4 while troopers were looking into an unrelated case.

The girl was subsequently interviewed Dec. 27 by an official with the Butler County Child Advocacy Center, according to earlier testimony.

The victim allegedly told the interviewer that Moore was “the one who raped me.”

She alleged that he first sexually assaulted her in summer 2018 in the woods at Butler Memorial Park.

The teen allegedly told authorities that Moore, later that summer, assaulted her a number of other times. She said she told him “no,” but he allegedly forced himself on her.

She accused the defendant of slapping her face when she told him “no.”

Moore also allegedly threatened to kill the girl if she told anyone that he had sex with her. Authorities estimated that the girl was raped five to 10 times.