McPherson was arrested in late August 2022 and indicted by a Butler County grand jury for kidnapping, abduction and gross sexual imposition and unlawful restraint. He has been held in the Butler County Jail in lieu of a $75,000 bond since his arrest.
Defense attorney Monika Roth filed a motion in September questioning McPherson’s ability to stand trial, and he received two forensic psychological evaluations before Butler County Common Pleas Judge Michael Oster Jr. declared him competent.
In March, a third evaluation was ordered by the judge after Roth filed a not guilty by reason of insanity plea for McPherson. On Monday, the judge ruled McPherson was not eligible for the NGRI plea after reviewing the third evaluation, according to prosecutors.
Oster then set a three-day trial to begin Sept. 6.
A question of competency for trial means the defendant does not understand the court proceedings and is unable to assist in his own defense.
An insanity plea means the defendant at the time of the offense did not know, as a result of a severe mental disease or defect, the wrongfulness of their actions.
On Aug. 23, the girl escaped by screaming and running, which was captured by the family’s doorbell camera.
According to the Hamilton police report, McPherson was walking past the girl on East Avenue when he bent down and grabbed her buttocks. The girl attempted to move away and he then grabbed her wrist “alongside the sidewalk.”
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