Three Count Indictment Unsealed in Delaware County Court

DELHI – Acting District Attorney Shawn Smith announced today that Devon Ireland, 28, of Unadilla, New York, appeared in Delaware County Court on October 20, 2023, and was arraigned on a sealed indictment.    

Ireland appeared before the Honorable John L. Hubbard, Delaware County Court Judge, and a Three Count Indictment was unsealed.  Count One of the Indictment alleged that the defendant attempted to endanger the welfare of a child. Count Two accused the defendant of Attempted Disseminating Indecent Material to Minors in the Second Degree, a Class A Misdemeanor, and Count Three accused the defendant of Attempted Disseminating Indecent Material to Minors in the First Degree, a Class E Felony.  

The defendant, a registered sex offender, is alleged to have engaged in a sexually explicit online conversation with a person that he believed to be a 14-year-old child.  During the conversation, the defendant induced the purported child to engage in sexual conduct.  Later that night, the defendant met the purported child in Masonville, and discovered that the supposed child was actually an adult male using a “decoy” account.    

The defendant pleaded not guilty to the charges, and the Judge remanded the defendant to the Delaware County Correctional Facility in lieu of $10,000.00 cash bail.  

The case is scheduled for a conference on October 23, 2023, at 1:00 P.M. 

Acting District Attorney Shawn Smith commended Delaware County Sheriff Deputies Elderkin and Finch for their thorough investigation into this case.  

First Assistant District Attorney Schuyler Kinneman presented the case to the Delaware County Grand Jury. 

As are all defendants, this defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty. 

Shawn J. Smith 

Acting District Attorney 

Delaware County