School district seeks injunction against resident
The Butler Area School District is seeking an injunction against a 33-year-old Butler man to keep him from coming onto school grounds.
District officials took action against Philip P. Heupel on Friday after they said he showed up at the Butler Middle School parking lot in Butler and harassed two teachers.
Butler County court later that day issued a temporary injunction prohibiting Heupel on any school property pending the outcome of a hearing Tuesday to consider the district's request for a permanent injunction.
It also bans him from attending any of the district's school-related activities.
Heupel is in the Butler County Prison on an unrelated bench warrant.
“I wanted to take as much action as possible to protect our employees and staff,” Butler Area School District Superintendent Brian White said Monday of the decision to seek court intervention.
Two women teachers on Friday morning reported that Heupel had accosted them while they were in their vehicles, solicitor Andrea Parenti said Monday.
One of the teachers advised that he refused to let her leave her car.
“He was intimidating them and yelling at them,” Parenti said, “and telling them they were laughing at him.”
The district was familiar with Heupel from a previous incident. It said he also harassed staff at the middle school parking lot Sept. 17.
White said the teachers reported the incident Friday to the middle school principal, who notified the superintendent and Butler police. White said he notified the solicitor.
The court order noted that the temporary injunction is to be enforced by city and Butler Township police, state police and the county sheriff's office.
If Heupel was to violate the order, he could be held in contempt and face a fine of $1,000 and/or imprisonment of six months.
The hearing for the permanent injunction is scheduled for before Judge Michael Yeager.
Butler police arrested Heupel around 9:10 p.m. Friday at his home on Franklin Street for the bench warrant in connection with a pending case of indecent exposure.
He allegedly exposed himself to a therapist May 17 at Butler Health Systems Family Services on North Washington Street, court documents state.
