BUTLER TWP — Testimony during a preliminary hearing Thursday told a tale of broken trust, when a man allegedly sexually assaulted a 13-year-old girl.

Alan Free, 61, of Butler, appeared in court virtually Thursday before District Judge Kevin O'Donnell. He had remained in jail on $100,000 bond since his arraignment June 11 on five charges.

Free has been charged with two felonies, statutory sexual assault and aggravated indecent assault. He also has been charged with three misdemeanors, including corruption of minors, child endangerment and indecent assault.

O'Donnell moved the charges forward to the Butler County Court of Common Pleas. However, after an argument by his attorney, Al Lindsay, the judge agreed to reduce the bond to $50,000 moving forward with the same conditions intact that prohibit Free from contacting the girl. Free's parents sat behind Lindsay and all of them sat about 15 feet from the witness stand, where Butler Township Detective Max Wittlinger began the hearing's testimony.

Wittlinger said he spoke with the girl at the station when she was reporting the assault. It was noted multiple times throughout the hearing that the girl has been diagnosed with autism.

“We asked her what took place,” he said. “She said Alan had sex with her.”

Wittlinger said clothing and bedding was collected for the investigation, and during cross-examination he told Lindsay that those items have yet to be analyzed.

The girl's mother testified next, detailing how she came to be aware of her daughter's alleged assault.The mother said Free, her longtime partner, had been sleeping in the girl's room because it had better conditions, more conducive for some of his medical problems.The mother said she placed a motion-sensor camera in the room on occasion to help monitor Free's health conditions at night. She said on June 11, she happened to check the camera and saw evidence of the assault.“When I went through it, it was like a mother's worst nightmare,” she said. “People with average intelligence could tell he wasn't just hugging her.”The mother said she showed the photographs to her daughter, who confirmed her suspicions. The mother said she took a screenshot of the photos.Assistant District Attorney Terri Schultz submitted two photographs into evidence.During cross-examination of the mother, Lindsay asked how long inappropriate relations had been occurring between her daughter and Free. The mother said her daughter told her it was about a year, but that her autism makes it difficult to establish time in that way.Lindsay also tried to ask the mother for direct quotes about what her daughter said the day the alleged assault was uncovered. The line of questioning prompted an outburst from the mother.“The pictures speak for themselves,” she said.The girl was the last to testify. Before the hearing, O'Donnell allowed the girl to tour the courtroom to help familiarize herself with her surroundings. Her testimony came forth in snippets brought out by Schultz's questions.The girl said the day the photographs were taken, Free entered her room, undressed her and had sex with her.“He came upstairs for no reason,” she said. “He got on top of me for no reason.”She said Free had come to her room “a lot” over the course of about a year, but she said sex occurred only one time, the day the photos were taken.After reminding her of the oath she took, Lindsay asked the girl only one question, whether her testimony was true. She said it was.

Moments later, Lindsay called for O'Donnell to dismiss the case.“The testimony of this young lady is problematic,” he said. “It doesn't match up.”Lindsay said the photographs are vague and do not explicitly show sex occurring.“The photographs that speak for themselves don't speak for themselves,” he said. “There's not enough to hold this for further proceedings.”Schultz said while there were some issues of timing, there was no wavering in the girls' testimony that sex occurred June 11.“She said that it happened on this day,” Schultz said.Free is scheduled to appear for a formal arraignment Aug. 17 in Common Pleas Court.