Francis Bielby
/ Oneida County Sheriff's Office
REMSEN -- A Remsen man was charged Saturday for allegedly removing a 10-year-old girl from her mother’s funeral and taking her to the Child Advocacy Center where he falsely reported that the girl’s father had sexually abused her.
Chief Dean Obernesser of the Oneida County Child Advocacy Center says that Francis Bielby removed the girl from the funeral service for her recently deceased mother on Saturday.
Bielby allegedly then took the girl to the Child Advocacy Center to report allegations of sexual abuse against the child's biological father.
Police say an investigation revealed that Bielby’s allegations towards the girl’s father were false and made in an attempt to retain custody of the child after the mother's death.
The child is currently safely residing with her father.
Bielby is charged with falsely reporting an incident and endangering the welfare of a child. He was arraigned in the city of Utica and remanded to the Oneida County Correctional Facility in lieu of $5,000.00 cash bail.
