A 21-year-old Butler man accused of having sex with a 14-year-old girl saw those charges moved forward to County Common Pleas Court on Thursday.

Kaleb A. Rearick appeared for a preliminary hearing before District Judge Kevin O’Donnell on three felony counts of statutory sexual assault, three felony counts of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse and three misdemeanor counts of indecent assault filed by state police in March.

The case stems from the 14-year-old girl who ran away from home Dec. 12, 2021. She was reported missing Dec. 13, 2021.

Assistant District Attorney J.P. Kulzer called the girl to testify to the events that took place during that time frame.

The girl said she ran away from home the night of Dec. 12 and stayed at a friend’s house in Oakland Township. She met Rearick that night when he picked her and her friends up in his car.

The girl testified that she told Rearick she was 17 during the car ride. The two went back to his home in Butler Township later that night, where she said and Rearick engaged in sexual activity.

Kulzer asked if the two discussed her age at any other point during their one and a half days together, to which the girl said they did.

“After we had sex the first time, he asked how old I really was. I said 14. I asked if he cared, he said no,” she said.

The girl related that she and Rearick smoked marijuana and engaged in sexual activity more than six times during her stay.

During cross examination, Rearick’s attorney, Michael Zunder, asked the girl why she told Rearick she was 17 when they met.

“So he would pick me up and take me,” she said.

She later testified that a missing person’s report with her picture and age came up while she was with Rearick. The girl testified that she and Rearick did not have sex after the post was seen on social media Dec. 14.

Trooper Jessica Titler told the court that Rearick came to the state police barracks in March 2022 for an interview. He claimed not to know the girl’s real age until he saw the report Dec. 14.

“He said he was told she was 17, and saw some type of article on social media site, and that’s how he was made aware of her age,” she said. “He related to me they only had sex when he thought she was 17.”

O’Donnell held all charges for the Court of Common Pleas based on the testimonies.