According to the Oneida County Sheriff’s Office Chief…

According to the Oneida County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Derrick O'Meara, who is the Director of the Oneida County Child Advocacy Center, a Bridgewater man has been arrested for having inappropriate contact with an underage female child.

The investigation began on October 27, 2021, when members of the Child Advocacy Center were notified that a female child, under the age of 17, had been subjected to inappropriate contact by 37-year-old Jon VanNort. The case was assigned to Sheriff’s Investigator Mark R. Chrysler.

Investigator Chrysler’s investigation revealed that VanNort had subjected the child to several acts of lewd and inappropriate sexual behavior throughout the month of July of 2021.

On November 8, 2021, Investigator Chrysler, and Sheriff’s Investigator Tyler Barnes arrested VanNort at his residence.

With the assistance of the Sheriff’s Office’s Road Patrol, VanNort was transported to the Sheriff’s Office where he was charged with one count of Forcible Touching and one count of Endangering the Welfare of a Child, both of which are Class A Misdemeanors. After processing, he was taken to the Sheriff’s Correctional Facility where he was arraigned at CAP Court and held on $10,000 cash bail, $20,000 bond. Services have been offered to the victim and an order of protection was issued on behalf of the child.