A Butler County Common Pleas Court judge will issue rulings on motions to release a man being held in prison for nearly two years for allegedly sexually assaulting a woman, and to obtain information from police about the woman.

Oral arguments were held Thursday, March 5, on a motion to release John B. Bujak, 65, from Butler County Prison on nominal bail with electronic monitoring because he has been held for nearly two years without being brought to trial. A second motion seeks police records relating to the woman.

Judge Joseph Kubit said he would rule in a timely manner on the motions filed by defense attorney Armand Cingolani.

Assistant district attorney Laura Pitchford argued against both motions, beginning with the motion for nominal bail.

She said a delay in bringing a defendant to trial needs to be attributed to the prosecution for nominal bail to be granted, but the delay is due to continuances requested by defense attorneys. The district attorney’s office has not requested any continuances, she said.

In addition, the safety of the woman cannot be ensured if Bujak is released, Pitchford said. An intimidation case connected to the sexual assault case also is pending against Bujak, she said.

Cingolani said Bujak shouldn’t remain in custody because of the continuances he filed. He said Bujak doesn’t own a vehicle and, if released, would stay at a home on electronic monitoring far from where the woman lives. He said Bujak can’t afford his $100,000 bail.

“He shouldn’t be held due to my difficulties with this case,” Cingolani said. He added that he will be ready for trial in May.

If Bujak is found not guilty, his time in prison will have been for nothing, Cingolani said.

Pitchford said the intimidation case involves communication through a third party, and there would be no way to monitor Bujak’s communications if he is released.

Cingolani said Bujak has not been charged with intimidation. He has been charged with offering the woman money through a third party to drop the sexual assault charges — not making threats.

Regarding his motion seeking police records relating to the woman, Cingolani said he is looking for evidence to discredit the woman.

He said he wants records from state police, Penn Township police and Saxonburg police about an assault allegation she made against a DoorDash worker that was withdrawn. He said the woman was convicted of theft in 2023 and arrested while she was on probation in 2024.

Pitchford said there are many reasons for withdrawing charges, and the woman has not been charged with making false reports.

She said the woman was charged with a probation violation, but none of the records Cingolani is seeking are not exculpatory, relevant to the case against Bujak or admissible. She said she would have turned over those records if they were applicable, and called the motion “outrageous.”

Attorneys representing Penn Township and state police said they intend to file motions to quash the requests. The Penn Township attorney said police have an incident report, but no record of charges being filed. The state police attorney said police do not have records of convictions against the woman.

According to state police, the woman reported that she went to Bujak’s home in Jefferson Township on Oct. 15, 2024, and slept on a couch. She said she woke up around 10 p.m., found her pants and underwear had been removed and noticed a sex toy on a nearby coffee table, according to an affidavit.

She said she confronted Bujak, who gave her the clothes and took her home. She then sent him a text message, and he admitted to sexually assaulting her while she slept, according to the affidavit.

Police charged Bujak with felonies sexual assault, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse involving an unconscious person, two counts of aggravated indecent assault and misdemeanor charges of indecent assault of an unconscious person and indecent assault.

On Oct. 21, 2024, police said he called someone from prison asking them to offer the woman $1,000 to drop the sexual assault charges. Police charged Bujak with a felony count of criminal solicitation.