Micah S. Brown
/ photo: NYSP
DEWITT -- A student-teacher from Connecticut has been arrested in Central New York, and is accused of having a sexual relationship with an underage girl.
State Police tell CNY Central that on Tuesday they apprehended 30-year-old Micah Saul Brown at the Quality Inn on Collamer Road in East Syracuse. Troopers say that Brown admitted to them during an interview that he traveled to the Syracuse area to have sex with girls he believed to be 14 and 16 years old, which were actually undercover police officers posing as the girls online.
Troopers say their investigation of Brown began when an underage female reported to State Police that she had a sexual relationship with Brown. Police say that the 15-year-old reported meeting Brown in an AOL chat room in November 2009, where he helped her with her school work. He then allegedly began to send her text messages and e-mails. Police say that in February 2010, Brown allegedly travelled to meet the girl at her home in the Town of Marcellus and gave her marijuana and alcohol before having sexual contact with her.
According to criminal complaint papers, Brown has been charged with two counts of felony attempting to disseminate indecent materials to a child, felony third degree criminal sex act, misdemeanor attempted luring of a child, misdemeanor unlawfully dealing with a child, felony criminal sale of marijuana, and misdemeanor endangering the welfare of a child.
Brown was arraigned in Town of DeWitt Court and remanded to the Onondaga County Justice Center jail on $500,000 cash bail or $1 million bond. He is scheduled to reappear in court on Monday, April 26 at 3:00 p.m. for a preliminary hearing.
Brown, originally from Portland, Oregon, was a student-teacher at the American School for the Deaf in West Hartford, Connecticut. Marilyn Rettig, the school's Director of Institutional Development, says Brown was working with middle school students and had been at the school for approximately a month. She also says Brown was not employed by the school, and will not be returning. According to Rettig, Brown was student-teaching while attending the National Technical Institute for the Deaf in Rochester, which is affiliated with the Rochester Institute of Technology.
The Onondaga County District Attorney's Office says they do not know if Brown has had contact with any other underage girls but say police have executed search warrants to look for more evidence. Anyone with further information regarding this case should contact State Police in Elbridge at 315-689-3353.
Troopers say they were assisted by the Onondaga County District Attorney's Office, Madison County District Attorneys Office, the New York State Police Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, NYSP Computer Crime Unit - Central Region, and the Connecticut State Police.
The case has been referred to the U.S. Attorney's Office for review.
