OXFORD – The Chenango County Sheriff’s Office is helping to educate both youths and adults on how to handle “stranger danger” incidents after police recently responded to a related complaint in Oxford.
On March 25, the Sheriff’s Office responded to a complaint involving two Oxford Middle School teens and a middle aged man.
Lt. Richard Cobb said the two girls were waiting for the morning school bus when a man pulled up in a vehicle and engaged them in conversation.
Sheriff Ernest R. Cutting said nothing criminal transpired during the encounter, but the brief exchange left the two girls feeling uncomfortable and they were compelled to walk away from the man, go back inside the home and notify their parents.
Cutting said police later identified the man and deputies contacted him over the incident.
“This individual who was unknown to the youths pulled up in his vehicle and began a random conversation, at one point asking the girls to come closer to his vehicle so he could ‘show them a story in a newspaper,’” said Cutting.
Lt. Richard Cobb said the man may have been behaving strangely but investigators don’t believe he said anything to justify a criminal act.
However, the incident prompted the Oxford Academy School District to issue an automated call to parents later that day.
“This morning we had an incident where a suspicious vehicle approached some children in the Oxford School District while they were waiting for the bus. The children reported this to an adult and the authorities were notified. Please take some time to talk with your children about general safety around strangers and what to do if someone they do not know approaches them. Be sure children are aware of their surroundings every day,” said the message.
Late last month, two Oxford Middle School employees were arrested for committing child-related sex crimes.
Terrill E. Sutton, 41, of Oxford, was arrested on charges of forcible touching and endangering the welfare of a child, both class A misdemeanors. According to a press release issued by the Oxford Police Department, she “allegedly had inappropriate contact with a 14-year old boy.”
Oxford Chief Richard Nolan confirmed the boy was an Oxford student sometimes supervised by Sutton, who was a part-time school monitor at the Oxford Middle School since September of 2007.
Nolan said the current charges facing Sutton allegedly occurred off school property but said “the investigating was still continuing,” when asked if any of the offenses took place at the school.
Patrick G. Woodard, 46, a custodian at the Oxford Middle School since September of 2009, was arrested March 14 by the New York State Police for possession of a sexual performance of a child, a class E felony. At the time of his arrest, police said the child pornography did not involve any Oxford students and was allegedly taken from the defendant’s home computer.
Both have been placed on paid leave pending a civil hearing.
Oxford Superintendent Randy Squier encouraged students to always make their whereabouts known to a parent or guardians and to travel with a friend.
Squier offered this advice to middle schoolers: “Tell someone, an adult, if something takes place that makes you feel uncomfortable. It’s OK to stand up for yourself when you feel uncomfortable; you haven’t done anything wrong.”
Squier said parents should talk to their kids about appropriate conduct and what to do if they feel threatened.
Squier also offered this advice to adults: “Common sense says you need to be very careful in how you approach children, especially when they’re alone and you don’t know them. There are certain situations where it’s understandable, but the first thing you need to do is identify yourself and explain why you’re talking to them,” said Squier.
Cutting said the Oxford students acted correctly by refusing to do something they felt was uncomfortable and by immediately notifying an adult.
“You should follow your gut feelings. If it doesn’t feel right, then you should let someone know, even if it turns out to be nothing,” he advised.