An Auburn Police Department officer is facing sexual abuse and official misconduct charges accusing him of having an inappropriate relationship with an Auburn High School student while serving as a school resource officer.
The Cayuga County Sheriff's Office on Friday reported the arrest of William Morrissey III, 32, of Whitehead Lane, Throop, on charges of first-degree sexual abuse, official misconduct and endangering the welfare of a child. Morrissey was arrested around 5 p.m. Thursday at his home and was arraigned later Thursday at Cayuga County Centralized Arraignment Part Court and sent to jail in lieu of $25,000 cash bail or $50,000 bond. Morrissey was released Friday morning after posting the cash bail.
The sheriff's office, which began its investigation on Wednesday, March 2, at the request of APD, said Morrissey engaged 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."
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No further details on the alleged crimes have been released because the investigation is ongoing.
The city has placed Morrissey on unpaid leave pending the outcome of the criminal case as well as an internal city investigation.
The city issued a statement on the case Friday morning. City Manager Jeff Dygert and APD Chief James Slayton said they received identical anonymous complaints about Morrissey in the mail on Monday, Feb. 28. Morrissey was removed from his post as SRO on Tuesday, March 1, while APD started an internal investigation into the anonymous claim.
"As the investigation into the claims progressed it quickly became evident there were legitimate and serious concerns related to the officer's relationship with a student," the APD release said.
To avoid conflicts of interest in a criminal investigation of one of its own officers, the APD then sought the assistance of the sheriff's office. Working with the APD, Cayuga County 911, Auburn Enlarged City School District and the Cayuga County District Attorney's Office, the sheriff's office collected information that led to Morrissey's arrest.
The city said the school district "will be providing support for students as necessary. A replacement SRO has been assigned to the Auburn High School."
Under the most serious of the charges Morrissey faces, the class D felony of first-degree sexual abuse, the maximum sentence for a conviction would be seven years in prison with three to 10 years of post-release supervision.
Acting Cayuga County District Attorney Brittany Grome Antonacci said Morrissey was charged under a provision of that crime that involves sexual contact through "forcible compulsion."Â
The other two charges in the case, official misconduct and endangering the welfare of a child, are class A misdemeanors.
In a phone interview Friday morning, Auburn schools Superintendent Jeff Pirozzolo said he was limited in what he could say about the case because the investigation is ongoing, but he thanked law enforcement for acting quickly to investigate the anonymous tip.
Pirozzolo sent an email Friday to district families about the case.
"This investigation is ongoing, so if you have any information that could help, please reach out to the Sheriff’s Department directly," he wrote.
The sheriff's office is asking anyone with information relevant to the investigation to call Detective Lt. Frederick Cornelius at (315) 253-6562. Tips also can be sent to tips@cayugacounty.us or be made anonymously at through the sheriff's website at . Any member of the sheriff’s office can also be reached at (315) 253-1179.
