Best Western worker accused of child sex crimes found hiding in hotel attic, NY cops say

Police raided a Best Western hotel in search of an employee accused of sex crimes and found him hiding in the attic, authorities in New York said.

The 47-year-old was arrested on May 5 after an “exhaustive search” of the Best Western hotel in the Town of Owego, state police announced in a May 23 news release.

He was charged with first-degree sex abuse, according to police. It wasn’t specified what exactly led to his arrest.

The man, of Owego, is also accused of hundreds of child sex crimes in neighboring Pennsylvania, authorities said.

He’s wanted on 400 “counts of sexually related offenses against a child” by the Sayre Borough Police Department in Sayre, Pennsylvania, according to the release. Sayre is about 20 miles southwest of Owego.

The man was detained in Tioga County Jail for an arraignment and processing, police said.

State Trooper Aga Dembinska told McClatchy News in a statement on May 23 that he is facing a charge related to sexual contact without consent. She declined to provide further details.

“Our utmost priority is to protect the victim and releasing more details could re-victimize the victim,” Dembinska said.

McClatchy News also contacted Best Western Hotels & Resorts for comment on May 23 and is awaiting a response.

Owego is about 30 miles southeast of Ithaca.

This story was originally published May 23, 2023 at 5:19 PM.

Julia Marnin

McClatchy DC

Julia Marnin covers courts for McClatchy News, writing about criminal and civil affairs, including cases involving policing, corrections, civil liberties, fraud, and abuses of power. As a reporter on McClatchy’s National Real-Time Team, she’s also covered the COVID-19 pandemic and a variety of other topics since joining in 2021, following a fellowship with Newsweek. Born in Biloxi, Mississippi, she was raised in South Jersey and is now based in New York State.