A Zelienople man missed his chance for a Butler judge to hear his argument that rape charges against him should be dropped or amended after he failed to turn up to court Tuesday.

Tyler Herrmann, 25, faces charges of rape, sexual assault, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse and indecent assault following his alleged assault of a woman in May 2017.

The victim, who will not be identified by the Butler Eagle, appeared in court to testify.

Judge William Shaffer dismissed part of the pretrial motion, which would have re-examined the rape and sexual assault charges through further testimony from the alleged victim, after Herrmann failed to show up in court.

Following the prosecution’s request, the charge of aggravated indecent assault, a second-degree felony, was upgraded Tuesday to involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, a first-degree felony. Herrmann’s lawyer, Stephen Misko, had no objection to the change.

Assistant District Attorney Patricia McLean said the prosecution wanted to amend the charge because aggravated indecent assault and involuntary deviate sexual intercourse pertain to different acts.

“It’s a more appropriate charge, given the testimony,” Misko said.

The other three charges against Herrmann remain.

The victim of the alleged assault, who sat in the courtroom ready to testify on Tuesday, originally testified during a preliminary hearing in August 2018.

According to court documents, the woman went to UPMC Passavant Cranberry on May 7, 2017, and was later interviewed by police after she said she was a victim of sexual assault.

She told police that Herrmann raped her on the night of May 5, 2017, into May 6, 2017, after the two had been hanging out with mutual friends.

She alleged that he picked her up around 10 p.m. May 5, 2017, and drove her to his home, according to court documents.

The two were supposed to go on a “burn run” to smoke marijuana, but met up with several other friends at his home in Zelienople, where she said they drank alcohol and smoked marijuana.

According to court documents, after everyone else left, she asked Herrmann to take her home. He allegedly told her he wasn’t ready to. She said he later forced himself on her.

During her testimony in August 2018, she recounted in detail the alleged assault. She testified that she said “no” throughout the course of the incident.

Tuesday’s hearing wasn’t the first attempt by the defense to redefine the alleged crime. During the preliminary hearing, the defense argued that insufficient evidence was presented to support the rape, sexual assault and aggravated indecent assault charges.

According to a transcript from the preliminary hearing, District Judge Wayne Seibel disagreed, holding up the charges.

“If you look under the definition of rape — dependent on whose definition you are looking up — my definition, it’s rape,” Seibel said.

Herrmann was initially arraigned in June 2018, more than a year after the alleged assault.

A trial date has not yet been set, and Herrmann has pleaded not guilty.