Kasey Dischman

A Butler County woman, charged with endangering not only her unborn child after allegedly overdosing while seven months pregnant but also her 8-year-old daughter, was released on house arrest in Butler County Court on Tuesday.

Kasey R. Dischman, 30, of Butler was released into pretrial supervision, including house arrest with electronic monitoring, by Judge William Shaffer.

Shaffer also made a condition of her release that she submit to a drug and alcohol evaluation, comply with any recommended treatment and report at least twice a week to the Butler County Adult Probation Office for drug testing.

Dischman is planning on suing the county, as well as the Butler County Prison, Warden Joe Demore and Butler County employee Justin Baptiste. However, no civil complaint was available detailing the underlying allegations, and her attorney in that civil matter, J. Lansing Hills, did not return a call for comment.

Judge Marilyn Horan has been assigned to the case, and available documentation states that Dischman is seeking a civil action with damages less than $35,000.

Dischman was charged in June with felony aggravated assault of an unborn child following her alleged June 22 overdose, which resulted in an emergency cesarean section and her baby being prematurely delivered.

Three additional charges were later added by the prosecution — misdemeanor endangering the welfare of children, corruption of minors and possession of a controlled substance. Those charges were based on evidence that Dischman's 8-year-old daughter also allegedly was present in the house at the time of the overdose, and that a hypodermic needle was found there.

The bond modification hearing follows a state Superior Court appeal on Oct. 30 by the Butler County District Attorney's Office challenging Shaffer's earlier decision to dismiss the felony charge.

Shaffer, in his previous order, said prosecutors were overreaching in their attempt to charge Dischman with aggravated assault using the state's Crimes Against the Unborn Child Act. He said Dischman was clearly protected from prosecution by a clause in the law that exempts pregnant women from prosecution for crimes against their unborn children.

Dischman's attorney, Public Defender Joseph Smith, said he has filed a motion to quash the appeal, which is under consideration by Superior Court. He argued that the $500,000 bail on which Dischman was being held was based entirely on that felony and, while under appeal, should not apply,

Dischman, who was previously sentenced on a six-month parole violation stemming from the overdose, has “served all the penalty for that” after the sentence expired Dec. 6.

“She is only held on this bond that comes from a charge to which she is immune,” Smith argued.

Assistant District Attorney Laura Pitchford, who is prosecuting the case, said she agreed that the $500,000 bail was “excessive,” but asked for $100,000 bail, citing Dischman's lack of employment, past criminal record and the allegations in this case as justification for a high bond.

“This incident occurred five days after she was released from jail,” she said. “This demonstrates that she is unable to comply with bail, and is a high risk of overdose, making her not only a risk to the community but also a risk to herself.”

The case remains inactive pending that appeal.

Dischman was charged after police said she allegedly injected a bag of heroin found beneath her couch, overdosed on the floor of her bathroom, and was later found by her boyfriend, who called 911.

She was taken to Butler Memorial Hospital, where she went into cardiac arrest before being flown to UPMC Mercy Hospital in Pittsburgh and subsequently placed on a ventilator. While there, blood work determined that opioids were in her system and she was then transferred to Magee-Women's Hospital of UPMC in Pittsburgh, where doctors performed the emergency C-section.