A Common Pleas Court judge continued a hearing Wednesday in order to hear directly from a young victim of an alleged indecent assault before determining whether or not the girl will testify in open court.

Judge Timothy McCune continued the hearing for William Stanley Brookbank, 51, of Bruin, who faces felony charges of endangering the welfare of children and corruption of minors, and two misdemeanor charges of indecent assault and one charge of indecent exposure. McCune wants to talk directly to the victim before making a final decision.

Assistant District Attorney Ben Simon argued the girl, now 7, should not be required to testify because doing so would cause her extreme emotional distress. He further requested that if the girl must testify, then she should be allowed to do so through live video.

On the other hand, Brookbank's attorney objected to the possibility of the girl not testifying. Assistant Public Defender Charles Nedz argued the defendant has the constitutional right to contest testimony.

McCune said he heard no evidence during the hearing that showed the girl would suffer emotional distress if she testified. He continued the hearing to give prosecutors the opportunity to present the girl.

Simon called two witnesses to shed more light on the situation.

Sue Counts, a social worker for the Butler County Alliance for Children who interviewed the girl in January, testified the District Attorney's office contacted her to conduct the interview because there were concerns about recent contact between the girl and Brookbank, as well as the child's preparedness for trial.

“She was avoidant to questions (and wouldn't make eye contact),” Counts said of her first attempt to talk to the girl with her mother, Simon and a state trooper present.

Counts went on to testify that she then tried to talk to the girl alone, but the youth remained uncomfortable. Counts added that only when her mother returned did the girl become slightly more comfortable talking with her.

According to Counts, the girl drew a picture of her private parts and indicated that Brookbank was somehow connected to the drawing.

“The defendant was linked to that,” Counts said.

She attributed the girl's reluctance to cooperate to lack of family support.

“I don't believe that this child is getting the support she deserves from her familial side,” Counts said. “She shared a couple of things and that was it (under cross examination from Nedz).”

A second witness for the prosecution, Kristina Totin of Totin Family Services interviewed the girl just last month to prepare her for the potential trial, adding that she does not know the specifics of the case. She met with the girl twice in March to explain the trial process to her using coloring books.

She said the girl was shy and reserved during the first meeting. However, during their second meeting, Totin said the girl told her that her father told her to lie about what happened.

“'Dad said if I just say I'm lying, this will all go away,'” Totin said.

Under cross-examination, Totin said the girl remained uneasy, anxious, and made little eye contact during the second interview.

Authorities became aware of the allegations in 2015.