According to Oneida County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy…

According to Oneida County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Derrick O’Meara, Director of the Child Advocacy Center(CAC), a Vernon couple was arrested on August 26, 2020 by the CAC as the result of an investigation regarding their lack of supervision of their two year old child in the morning hours of August 25, 2020.

On August 25, 2020 a member of the community reported to authorities that that they had witnessed the two year old child, alone and unsupervised in the front yard of the family’s residence, located on Seneca Ave./Route 5 in the Village of Oneida Castle. Upon observing this, the individual knocked on the door of the residence and made contact with the mother to alert her that her child was outside, alone. This investigation was conducted by Oneida County Sheriff’s Office Sergeant Melissa Bolton, who is assigned to the CAC and upon further investigation into the allegations, Michael DeCoste, age 31 and Rebecca DeCoste, age 34, were each charged with one count of Endangering the Welfare of a Child, a Class A Misdemeanor. The DeCoste’s were each issued an appearance ticket made returnable to Vernon Town Court at a later date. Sgt. Bolton was assisted in this investigation by Oneida County Child Protective Services.