William “Bill” Halle

A preliminary hearing for William “Bill” Halle was continued Monday, March 18, to allow him more time to find an attorney to represent him on refiled charges of sexual assault.

Halle again faces charges of felonies sexual assault by a volunteer or employee of a nonprofit, corruption of minors, criminal use of a communication facility and criminal solicitation, and misdemeanor corruption of minors. City police refiled the charges March 8.

Police allege he sexually assaulted a 17-year-old girl he counseled at his former nonprofit and employed at the now-defunct Net Outreach Center in the former Grace Youth and Family Foundation building. The girl is now 18.

Halle, 59, appeared Monday before District Judge William Fullerton in Butler and said he wanted to discuss the challenge of finding an attorney due to “extreme communication restrictions” being placed on him.

He said he mailed a letter to the city district court about this matter, but it was not received.

“I’d like it noted for the record, your honor, I’ve had at least 75 letters held by the jail,” he said.

In October, Halle was placed under bond conditions which allowed him to contact only his attorneys and bail bond companies through the Butler County Prison phone system. Those provisions were placed by Judges William Robinson and Timothy F. McCune after he violated the no-contact order of his parole on civil and criminal matters while incarcerated.

During his argument, Halle stated due to the sale of his outreach building at 100 Center Avenue, he was unsure of what became of his belongings and financial assets. He said he attempted to seek council through the county public defender’s office and was denied.

“I do not find it credible you have the complete inability to make phone calls,” Fullerton said.

Assistant district attorney Laura Pitchford said she estimated Halle had made at least a call a day in the past month.

“I assure you Mr. Halle has not had any issues contacting his friends by the prison phone, even as recently as yesterday,” she said. “This is a situation every single inmate at Butler County Prison encounters.”

Halle cited Pitchford as a “known political adversary” toward him during his statements to Fullerton.

Following those statements, Fullerton told Halle the complaints he cited could not be handled at the district court level, and his options were to request a continuance, waive or proceed with the preliminary hearing. Halle requested a continuance, which was granted by the judge.

Fullerton also told Halle there were resources available to him through the American Civil Liberties Union if he thought his rights were being violated.

“If there’s an issue here, they’ll champion it for you,” Fullerton said.

The criminal charges against Halle were first filed May 31, 2023, but were dismissed in January by McCune. The initial charges alleged a relationship between Halle and the teen and involved inappropriate contact and communications.

According to District Attorney Richard Goldinger, the charges were refiled earlier this month and include a new witness who can prove the girl was involved in Halle’s outreach program when the alleged relationship began.

Though the initial criminal charges were dismissed, Halle was ordered in civil court to serve the remainder of a six-month jail sentence imposed in October for violating a no-contact rule of his parole.

Halle was accused of violating no-contact conditions of parole on a number of occasions for both his civil and criminal cases, including referring to the teen girl in a social media post, staying in a camper on a site assigned to the girl at a campground in Clarion County and contacting her while incarcerated through a third party.

Halle’s preliminary hearing was rescheduled for April 22. He remains in Butler County Prison in lieu of $250,000 bail connected to the refiled charges.