State police have arrested a former officer of the Geneseo Police Department after a sex assault investigation.
On November 28th troopers arrested Kristofor O’Rourke, age 29, of Newfield for criminal sex act and official misconduct.
O’Rourke was last employed by the Tompkins County Sheriff’s Office, and was previously employed by the Watkins Glen Police Department, Mt. Morris Police Department, and Geneseo Police Department.
The 29-year-old is accused of arresting a woman for aggravated driving while intoxicated in the village of Geneseo. He threatened to take her to jail if she didn’t engage in a sexual act with him.
Prosecutors in Livingston County say O’Rourke was charged with oral sexual conduct without consent of the female victim, while on duty and in uniform.
He was arraigned and pleaded not guilty to the charges. His next court appearance is scheduled for December 13th.
The Tompkins County Sheriff’s Office said O’Rourke was fired on November 21st for inappropriate verbal communication while on duty. Here’s what they said about the incident that was investigated this month, before charges were filed in Livingston County:
“On November 9, 2022 the Tompkins County Sheriff’s Office became aware of a complaint from a community member that was made to a law enforcement agency in Cortland County. It was determined that the subject of the complaint was a Tompkins County Sheriff’s Deputy identified as Kristofer O’Rourke. After gathering further information that same day, it was determined to be a serious misconduct complaint and the deputy was immediately placed on administrative leave as outlined in the collective bargaining agreement. An investigation was conducted by Undersheriff Olin and the complaint was ultimately determined to be sustained. Our investigation uncovered inappropriate verbal communication of a sexual nature by O’Rourke to a member of the public while he was on-duty. On November 21, 2022, based on the investigation, Sheriff Osborne terminated O’Rourke due to improper conduct as defined in 9 NYCRR 6056.2(h)(1). The findings of the investigation and the termination for cause was immediately reported to the Division of Criminal Justice Services so O’Rourke’s police officer certification would be permanently invalidated preventing him from working for another law enforcement agency in the future. The Tompkins County District Attorney was also consulted by my Office, and it was determined that the conduct did not rise to the level of a criminal charge. The Sheriff’s Office and the District Attorney’s Office is currently reviewing other cases O’Rourke was involved in during his time at the Sheriff’s Office.”
– Tompkins County Sheriff’s Office, November 28th, 2022.
He had been employed by the sheriff’s office in Tompkins County since August 2022.
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