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Queens Man Arrested for Alleged Sex Acts With PV Girl
Defendant and teen became acquainted and arranged trysts on Internet
Putnam County Sheriff Donald B. Smith reports the arrest on February 6, 2007 of a Queens man on a statutory rape charge. Mr. Cannell Jerome, aged 22, of the Rosedale section of Queens, is accused of having sex with a 13-year-old Putnam Valley girl whom he encountered on the Internet.
According to investigators, the pair first became acquainted when they exchanged messages in an Internet chat room back in November of 2005. That initial exchange spawned what would become frequent and then daily communications between them, consisting of online discussions in chat rooms and text-messages transmitted via cellular telephones. That electronic contact went on for a year. Then, in November 2006, the relationship between Mr. Jerome and the girl escalated when they agreed to meet in person.
Mr. Jerome reportedly took trains and taxis in traveling from his Queens residence to make several visits to the girl's home in the Lake Peekskill section of Putnam Valley. The girl lives in the home with her mother, a younger sibling, and an elderly grandparent. Each such visit was arranged to occur when the girl's mother, who was unaware of the girl's involvement with Mr. Jerome, was not at home. In some instances, the defendant climbed out through the girl's bedroom window to avoid being seen by others in the household; at other times he simply entered and exited the home through the front door.
Based upon their investigation, authorities do not believe that any sexual acts occurred in the first several meetings between the pair, but it is alleged that they had intercourse during the defendant's subsequent visits to the girl's house on January 22nd and January 23rd.
Investigators say that Mr. Jerome's illicit dealings with the girl came to light on January 26th, when the girl's mother found telltale evidence of the relationship on her daughter's computer and notified the Sheriffs Department. Deputy Sheriff Luigi Osso took the initial report in the case and referred the matter to the Sheriff's Bureau of Criminal Investigation.
Sheriff's Investigator Martin followed up on the case, with assistance from caseworkers from the Putnam County Child Advocacy Center ("CAC"). On February 6, 2007, Investigator Martin arrested Mr. Jerome and charged him with two counts of rape in the second degree and two counts of committing a criminal sexual act in the second degree, all class D felonies.
Mr. Jerome was arraigned before Carmel Town Justice Thomas Jacobellis, acting on behalf of the Town of Putnam Valley Justice Court. The justice remanded him to the Putnam County Correctional Facility in lieu of $2,500 bail and issued an Order of Protection barring Mr. Jerome from communicating with the girl.
Mr. Jerome is scheduled to appear in the Town of Putnam Valley Justice Court on February 15, 2007 to answer the charges lodged against him. If convicted on those charges, the defendant could face up to seven years' imprisonment and a fine of up to $5,000 on each count.
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