The attorney defending former Butler Area School board member William Halle against charges alleging he had a sexual relationship in 2023 with a 17-year-old girl who worked at his now-defunct nonprofit asked a judge to sanction the district attorney’s office for violating court orders to turn over evidence.

At a hearing Monday before Butler County Common Pleas Court Judge Maura Palumbi, attorney Joel Hills and assistant district attorney Laura Pitchford argued over whether or not evidence could be turned over for Halle’s defense.

Hills said sanctions should be imposed because the district attorney’s office has not complied with two court orders to turn over evidence. Senior Judge William Shaffer issued an order to compel discovery in December and Palumbi issued another order to compel discovery in February.

Hills said the district attorney’s office has ignored both orders. He said there is a large number of physical files containing financial records about the nonprofit Grace Youth and Family Foundation that are exculpatory — or favorable — to Halle.

But a previous court order barred Halle from access to those records, which are in the custody of attorney Michael Pater, whom the attorney general’s office named the receiver of the foundation’s assets, Hill said. He argued there is no legal distinction between the district attorney’s and attorney general’s offices.

Pitchford said the documents are in a storage facility under the custody of the receiver, who said Halle can have them, but a laptop computer from the foundation that was given to the receiver is now at a crime lab because possible child pornography was found on it.

A search warrant is pending for the laptop, which the crime lab has not yet examined, she said.

The laptop will be turned over to Halle after the crime lab completes its search, Pitchford said.

In addition, Hills said he has been seeking text messages from the then-17-year-old’s cellphone. He said the messages sent between the then-teen and Halle are about the consensual relationship they had. He said the messages are also exculpatory. Butler police provided photos of the text messages, Hills said.

Pitchford said the messages can’t be retrieved from the phone.

“Sanctions are in order,” Hills said, arguing the district attorney’s office has ignored the court orders.

He also asked Palumbi to consider the motion he filed to dismiss the charges against Halle.

Palumbi said she will issue an order giving the district attorney’s office seven days to provide Halle with the date the laptop was sent to the crime lab and the date the office got the laptop back from the receiver, and instructing the office to file an affidavit when it gets the laptop back from the lab and turn it over to Halle.

She also said she will review the order that bars Halle from access to the foundation’s financial records before deciding if she will conduct a contempt of court hearing.