A 23-year-old Seward man was arrested Wednesday on charges of second-degree rape five days after being charged with attempting to meet another girl in Latham to engage in sexual conduct.
Joseph H. Hemmes was charged Wednesday night with having sexual intercourse with a 14-year-old girl on a warrant out of the Town of Sharon court for having sexual intercourse in Sharon, said Schoharie County District Attorney James Sacket.
“We believe there are more victims and hope they come forward,” Mr. Sacket said Monday, indicating there may be more charges.
“If there are additional victims, we hope they report it to law enforcement.”
The rape charge is second-degree, he said, because Mr. Hemmes is older than 21 and the girl is younger than 15.
The investigation also led to two other charges against Mr. Hemmes, of Slate Hill Road, on November 7.
Mr. Hemmes, a volunteer firefighter in Sharon, was also charged with attempted dissemination of indecent material to a minor, a felony, and attempted endangering the welfare of a child, a misdemeanor, after State Police said he was attempting to meet a 14-year-old girl for the purpose of engaging in sexual conduct.
The 14-year-old girl at the Latham restaurant turned out to be a female investigator with the State Police computer crimes unit, according to troopers in Loudonville.
Mr. Hemmes sent images of heterosexual sex “as examples of what he wanted to do with her,” said assistant Schoharie County District Attorney Michael Breen, who handled the case in the Village of Cobleskill court Wednesday evening.
The arrest came after an investigation by the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, and the Attorney General’s office, along with the State Police Computer Crimes Unit and the State Police Princetown BCI.
Mr. Hemmes got together with the investigator on line and believed she was supposed to be 14, Mr. Breen said.
There were indications that Mr. Hemmes was in contact with a child in the western part of the state. Police knew his account number and were able to monitor his case, Mr. Breen said.
There was never a “come-on” by police in the sting operation, Mr. Breen said.
“He always initiated it.”
Police executed search warrants at Mr. Hemmes’ place of employment at Rural Metro Medical Services in Cobleskill and his home and seized his laptop.
Mr. Hemmes allegedly used his laptop to contact the investigator while on duty at Rural Metro, Mr. Breen said. None of the company’s computers were used by Mr. Hemmes for this purpose and were not seized by police.
Discussing the case in general, State Police Investigator William John said parents play an important role in protecting their children when it comes to the Internet.
Parents should monitor their children’s activities on the Internet and “what they do on the Internet. In a lot of these places they (the children) don’t know who they are speaking with,” he said.
Mr. Hemmes was originally sent to Schoharie County jail in lieu of $12,000 cash bail or $60,000 bond. Those amounts were dropped to $5,000 bail or $15,000 bond Wednesday after a hearing in Cobleskill court in which Mr. Hemmes agreed to surrender his EMT license, Mr. Breen said.
He is currently being held in jail in lieu of $50,000 bail or $100,000 bond after the rape charge.
The matter has been held over for grand jury action, officials said.