Update March 15, 2018: Arthur Ward was found not guilty of the charges by a jury of his peers.
CORTLAND, N.Y. — An 82-year-old Cortland man has been charged with more than 70 counts of sexual abuse following a 7-month investigation into allegations that a young girl was sexually abused by a family acquaintance.
Arthur Ward
Arthur C. Ward, of Elm Street, was arrested Tuesday on 58 felony counts of first-degree sexual abuse for allegedly having sexual contact with a person under the age of 11.
He was additionally charged with 12 felony counts of first-degree sexual abuse for allegedly having sexual contact with a person under the age of 13, one felony count of attempted sexual abuse and two counts of endangering the welfare of a child, a misdemeanor.
After being interviewed at the Cortland County Child Advocacy Center, investigators learned that the victim was sexually abused on numerous occasions from September 2006 through August 2013, according to Lt. Richard Troyer with the Cortland Police Department.
Ward was arraigned in Cortland City Court and taken to Cortland County jail on $5,000 cash bail or $10,000 bond. He was scheduled to appear in Cortland City Court today.
