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Judge Thomas Leone issued a decision Tuesday to not drop or reduce the indictment against William Morrissey, 33, with a last listed address of Seymour Street, Auburn. The decision follows a late March hearing in which Leone heard arguments on whether the city of Auburn's internal probe into allegations against Morrissey improperly influenced the Cayuga County Sheriff's Office investigation that led to criminal charges.

Morrissey, who worked as a school resource officer at Auburn High School, was arrested by the sheriff's office in early March 2022 on charges alleging he sexually abused a 14-year-old student. 

After hearing five witnesses, Leone reserved on making a decision and asked that the Cayuga County District Attorney's Office and George Hildebrandt, Morrissey's defense attorney, turn in memorandums on whether rights violations occurred during the investigation and if so, what the proper remedy would be and why. 

Leone's decision released Tuesday denied a motion to dismiss the indictment, disagreeing with Hildebrandt's assertion that the prosecution against his client was the result of statements Morrissey made during an interview with Auburn city officials at Memorial City Hall on March 1, 2022.  Public employees have rights meant to protect them from being compelled to incriminate themselves in order to keep their jobs.

The decision said that during that interview at city hall, Morrissey disclosed giving the student rides after school in his personal vehicle, communicating with her through text and communication services such as Snapchat and FaceTime, and giving her a pair of Air Jordan basketball sneakers as a birthday present. Leone said the defense argued that if Morrissey had declined to be interviewed, the matter would have ended. The defense also argued the information Morrissey gave during his interview at city hall as a part of the city's probe was the only impetus for continuing the investigation, the decision said.

Leone disagreed with that conclusion.

"This premise is speculative and unsupported by the record," the decision said.

Leone wrote that the grand jury minutes for Morrissey's indictment established that the defendant's statements to city officials "themselves were not utilized directly or indirectly." The decision argued there were independent sources for the admissions Morrissey gave in his interview, such as surveillance videos from the school showing Morrissey giving the student rides and messages recovered from the student’s phone.

Leone also noted anonymous letters sent to Auburn Police Chief James Slayton and Auburn City Manager Jeff Dygert Feb. 28 about the alleged relationship between Morrissey and the student mentioned the rides and electronic communication. The decision also noted that simultaneous to Morrissey's interview at city hall, the student confirmed the defendant had given her rides and that in an earlier interview with Morrissey before the one at city hall, he denied giving the student rides.

"The mere conflict between these facts alone could reasonably have prompted further investigation regardless" of whether Morrissey had spoken with officials at city hall, Leone’s decision said.

The decision also noted the statements made by Morrissey in his city hall interview "were not particularly remarkable or otherwise valuable from an investigative or charging standpoint." Leone noted Morrissey never admitted in his interview to engaging in physical contact with the student, let alone taking part in conduct that could be seen as criminal.

The decision said allegations of Morrissey sending sexually explicit communications to the student through cell phones did not emerge until after the sheriff's office took over the investigation, "which was wholly separate and independent" from the defendant's interview as a part of the city's probe. 

Leone also denied a defense motion to inspect the grand jury minutes and for the indictment to be dismissed based on a lack of legally sufficient evidence, improper instruction to the grand jury and grand jury proceedings being defective.

"The court has reviewed the grand jury minutes and concludes that the evidence was legally sufficient to support the charges, and the grand jury was properly instructed," the decision said. 

Cayuga County District Attorney Brittany Grome Antonacci said via email that "we are not permitted to comment while the case is pending." 

George Hildebrandt, Morrissey's defense attorney, said he was disappointed by the court's decision.

"I don't think there was any question in my mind that (Morrissey's) protected statements (to his employer) were used in making the decision to continue the investigation against him," Hildebrandt said. 

Morrissey was charged by the sheriff's office on March 3, 2022. 

The sheriff's office said at the time Morrissey had taken part in "repeated inappropriate conduct with a student occurring in and around the City of Auburn including Auburn High School where he was serving as a School Resource Officer." He was charged with first-degree sexual abuse, a class D felony, and official misconduct and endangering the welfare of a child, which are misdemeanors. Morrissey was later indicted in July on an additional count, disseminating indecent material to minors, which is a class D felony.

Morrissey was also charged in March 2023 in a recently unsealed Cayuga County grand jury indictment for second-degree criminal contempt, a misdemeanor. The indictment said Morrissey added the alleged victim in the sexual abuse case to his Snapchat "by search" in October, which violated an order of protection.