According to Oneida County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy…

According to Oneida County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Derrick O’Meara, the Director of the Oneida County Child Advocacy Center, a Town of Sullivan man has been indicted by the Oneida County Grand Jury for having sexual contact with a female child less than eleven years of age.

The investigation began on September 1, 2021, when a report was made to the Road Patrol Division of the Oneida County Sheriff’s Office alleging that Perry Coss, age 66, had subjected the female child to sexual contact in August of 2021 at a residence in the outer district of the City of Rome. The report was subsequently turned over to the Child Advocacy Center for further investigation and was assigned to Oneida County Sheriff’s Office Sergeant Melissa Bolton.

Upon completion of the investigation, it was turned over to the Oneida County District Attorney’s Office, where it was then presented to an Oneida County Grand Jury in February of 2022. As a result, Perry Coss was indicted on the following charges: (2) Counts of Sexual Abuse in the First Degree, a Class D Felony, and (1) Count of Endangering the Welfare of a Child, a Class A Misdemeanor. As a result of the indictment, a Superior Court Warrant of Arrest was issued.

On March 2, 2022, Perry Coss was located at his residence by an Investigator with the Oneida County Sheriff’s Office Warrants Unit and deputies with the Madison County Sheriff’s Office and taken into custody. Perry Coss was then turned over to the Oneida County Correctional Facility where he was held until his arraignment in Oneida County Court on March 3, 2022. Upon arraignment on the above listed charges, Perry Coss was remanded to the Oneida County Correctional Facility in lieu of $10,000 cash bail and he is scheduled to appear in court at a later date. A stay away order of protection is in place for the victim, who has been offered services through the Child Advocacy Center.