An 84-year-old man has been charged with raping a person between 2022 and 2024 in the town of Willet, Cortland County sheriff’s officers said.
Donald R. Griest, of Bloody Pond Road, Willet, was charged with two counts of first-degree rape, first-degree sexual abuse, felonies; forcible touching, second-degree unlawful imprisonment, misdemeanors.
In November 2024, sexual abuse allegations were reported to the Cortland County Sheriff’s Office. The sexual abuse was reported to have happened between January 2022 and November 2024 in Willet. An investigation showed Griest had inappropriate sexual contact with someone he knew during that time frame, Cortland County sheriff’s officers said.
First-degree rape is a crime in four circumstances, but police did not describe which circumstance brought the charge:
•When the suspect has sex with another person by forcible compulsion.
•When the suspect has sex with another person who is physically helpless.
•When the suspect engages in sexual intercourse with another person who younger than 11.
•When a suspect over 18 has sex with a child younger than 13.
Griest was arrested Tuesday. He was released without bail, and was scheduled to appear Thursday in Willet Town Court, although details were unavailable.
