SLIPPERY ROCK — A Butler woman pleaded not guilty at a preliminary hearing Wednesday after being accused of orchestrating a fake raffle last year on behalf of the Portersville Prospect Rotary.

“I never maliciously did anything to hurt anybody,” said defendant Debra Calahan during her testimony.

After being released on her own recognizance, Calahan, 62, appeared and represented herself for the hearing, despite being repeatedly told by District Judge William O'Donnell that she had the right to have an attorney.

O'Donnell later forwarded all charges to the Butler County Court of Common Pleas. She is charged with two misdemeanor crimes, 36 counts of theft by deception and one count of illegally distributing lottery tickets.

According to Calahan, she wanted to help the club by selling raffle tickets, and she had helped them sell tickets for a previous gun raffle. She said she went to Sir Speedy and printed out the same raffle tickets, assuming that's all she had to do.

“I was wrong. I know that now,” she said. “I was going to surprise them and help them out.”

Since Calahan asked the judge to be sworn in to offer her own testimony, Assistant District Attorney David Beichner had an opportunity to cross-examine her as a witness.

During that cross-examination, Calahan admitted to selling about 40 raffle tickets without the permission of any of the three entities represented on the ticket.

The businesses and organizations listed on the ticket included the Rotary club, Raisley Funeral Home in Prospect and First Bike Motorsports in Butler.

Witnesses from all three of those entities testified in court that they did not give permission to Calahan to perform the raffle, which promised a side-by-side utility vehicle to the winner.

Keri Raisley, owner of the funeral home, said she found out about the raffle when multiple people called her answering service asking who the winner was. She said after police were contacted, Calahan also reached out to her mother.

“It was a plea for my mother not to call the police,” Raisley said.

During his testimony, Trooper Santino Napolitano said he had tied a number of Facebook posts to Calahan. He said some appear to be advertisements for the raffle, while later ones refuted the allegations that it is a fake raffle.

Napolitano said during his interview with Calahan, she said she tried to give money back to people who bought the tickets. He said Calahan deprived the victims of a total of about $900.

During her testimony, Calahan also claimed to have given money back to ticket holders.

“A lot of these people already got their money back,” she said.

Calahan will next appear for a formal arraignment in the Butler County Court of Common Pleas. A date was not immediately available.