According to Oneida County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy…

According to Oneida County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Derrick O’Meara, Director of the Oneida County Child Advocacy Center, a City of Utica man has been indicted by the Oneida County Grand Jury for having sexual contact with a female child.

On August 1, 2025 the Utica Police Department was dispatched to the Wynn Hospital for the report of a rape of a female child.

It was reported that Jermaine Neal, age 20, had subjected the female child to sexual contact in the City of Utica on August 1, 2025. The Utica Police Department then contacted the Child Advocacy Center and turned the case over for further investigation, due to the age of the victim.The investigation was assigned to OCSO Investigator Travis Kinderman, who is assigned to the CAC.

Upon the completion of the investigation, it was turned over to the Oneida County District Attorney’s Office and subsequently presented to the Oneida County Grand Jury in October 2025. As a result, Neal was indicted on the following charges: Rape in the First Degree(3 counts), Rape in the Third Degree(3 counts) and Criminal Obstruction of Breathing. A Superior Court Warrant of Arrest was then issued.

On November 3rd, 2025 Neal was located in the City of Utica by members of the United States Marshal’s Service New York/New Jersey Regional Fugitive Task Force-Utica Division. Neal was then turned over to the Oneida County Correctional Facility where he was held pending his arraignment in Oneida County Court on November 5th, 2025. Upon arraignment, Neal was remanded to the Oneida County Correctional Facility without bail and a stay away order of protection was issued on behalf of the victim.

The CAC was assisted in this investigation by the Oneida County Sheriff’s Office Forensic Identification Unit and the Utica Police Department.

The victim in this case has been offered services through the Child Advocacy Center.