Site last updated: Friday, September 18, 2026

Log In

Reset Password
Butler County's great daily newspaper

Social media ban for teen pineapple defendant

A 14-year-old girl accused of intentionally exposing a classmate with a severe pineapple allergy to the fruit has been severely limited from using social media.

The restriction was one of several conditions placed on the girl as part of a safety plan approved Thursday at an emergency hearing in juvenile court before Butler County Judge Timothy McCune.

It was also learned at the hearing that the teenager was expelled from Butler Intermediate High School in Butler Township in wake of the Dec. 13 incident, and she is attending cyber school through the district.

The Butler Eagle is not naming the girl because she was charged as a juvenile.

She landed in court after Butler Township police last month filed felony assault and other criminal charges against her.

Police said she rubbed pineapple on her own hand and then “high-fived” the girl with the allergy during a lunch period.

The victim was taken to the nurse's office, given an epinephrine pen and eventually taken by ambulance to Butler Memorial Hospital. She was treated and released from the hospital the same day, authorities said.

The emergency hearing Thursday was held because authorities were unable to contact the teen or her mother, said Russ Karl, a Butler County assistant district attorney who handles juvenile cases for the prosecutor's office.

The safety plan, which McCune approved, ordered the girl to have no contact with the victim or the victim's family, and to contact her probation officer weekly.

Additionally, she was barred from social media except for school-related purposes.

The girl is due back in court March 2 for her pre-adjudication conference, at which she will have the option to admit guilt or deny the charges.

She is charged with aggravated assault and conspiracy, both felonies, and simple assault, reckless endangerment, harassment and disorderly conduct in juvenile court, all misdemeanors.

If the girl denies the allegations, an adjudication hearing is scheduled to determine her guilt or innocence.

A disposition hearing will ultimately determine if she is in need of treatment, supervision, or rehabilitation.

The girl's attorney, public defender Ryan Helsel, declined to comment after Thursday's hearing.

Two other students, both girls ages 13 and 14, are also charged in the case with felony conspiracy and misdemeanor reckless endangerment and disorderly conduct.

Prosecutors suggested the felony charges against all three girls, saying they knew about the victim's severe allergy. Investigators said the victim's allergy is such that any contact with pineapple could have caused her to go into anaphylactic shock.

The school does not serve pineapple to avoid an accidental exposure. Because of that pineapple prohibition, authorities suspected someone had brought the fruit in their lunch from home.

Pre-adjudication conferences for the other girls are set for Friday and March 2.

More in Local News

Subscribe to our Daily Newsletter

* indicates required
TODAY'S PHOTOS