Two men are accused in separate Delaware County Court cases of attempting to entice children into sex.
According to media releases from the office of Acting District Attorney Shawn Smith, Shawn M. Steele, 41, of Sidney, and Paul L. Thayer, 48, of Cooperstown face felony charges.
Steele appeared in court on June 13 to answer two charges contained in an indictment handed up by a grand jury. The first count alleges Steele attempted to endanger the welfare of a child. The second accuses him of first-degree attempted disseminating indecent material to minors, a class E felony.
It is alleged that Steele engaged in a sexually explicit online conversation with a person whom he believed to be a 15-year-old child, with the intention of enticing the child to engage in sexual conduct with him. Steele allegedly invited the child to his home on Smith Street in the village of Sidney so that they could engage in sexual intercourse, the release said, but Steele was actually engaging in a conversation with an adult posing as a child. The adult provided the information to the Sidney Police Department, the release said. The Sidney Police conducted an investigation which resulted in the indictment and arrest.
Steele pleaded not guilty to the charges and was sent to jail in lieu of $7,500 cash bail, according to the release.
In the other case, Thayer appeared in court the same day for arraignment on charges contained in a sealed indictment.
Thayer is charged with attempting to endanger the welfare of a child and first-degree attempted disseminating indecent material to minors, a class E felony.
Thayer is alleged to have engaged in a sexually explicit conversation with a person that he believed to be a 14-year-old child, with the intention of enticing the child to engage in sexual conduct with him. According to the release, Thayer then traveled to the village of Walton to meet with that child, but instead was confronted by an adult who had been posing as a child. The adult made a complaint to the Walton Police, and a police investigation resulted in the indictment, the release said.
Thayer pleaded not guilty to the charges and was sent to jail in lieu of $5,000 cash bail, according to the release.