Erie County District Attorney John J. Flynn announces that 41-year-old Robert M. Dee of Town of Eden was arraigned this morning before State Supreme Court Justice Deborah A. Haendiges on an indictment charging him with the following misdemeanor offenses:

• One count of Forcible Touching
• Three counts of Official Misconduct
• Two counts of Criminal Contempt in the Second Degree
• One count of Tampering with a Witness in the Fourth Degree

It is alleged that between March 19, 2019 and May 14, 2019, the defendant, while working as a jail deputy in the Erie County Holding Center, forcibly touched the intimate parts of a female inmate.

It is further alleged that between March 19, 2019 and May 29, 2019, the defendant, while on-duty as a jail deputy, solicited and received the same female inmate’s phone number. The defendant is accused of calling the former inmate by phone after she was released from custody, knowingly in violation of protocol that requires a deputy to report contact with a former inmate.

It is alleged that on October 22, 2021, the defendant, while on-duty, picked up a different female victim at a park in the Town of Hamburg while driving an Erie County Sheriff’s Office patrol vehicle. The defendant allegedly drove the victim to his home in the Town of Eden where they engaged in sexual conduct.

It is alleged that on December 9, 2021, at approximately 1:54 p.m., officers from the Eden Police Department responded to the defendant’s home for a domestic disturbance. The defendant is accused of subjecting the same female victim to physical contact. The defendant was off-duty at the time of the alleged incident.

Dee was arrested and arraigned that evening in Eden Town Court. An order of protection was issued, which prohibited the defendant from having any future contact with the victim.

It is alleged that the defendant knowingly violated the order of protection in a second domestic violence-related arrest. It is alleged that on Tuesday, January 4, 2022, at approximately 8:54 p.m., Erie County Sheriff’s deputies responded to a home in the Town of Eden after receiving a 911 call. The deputies allegedly found the same female victim inside the defendant’s home in violation of the order of protection. The defendant was off-duty at the time of the alleged incident.

The defendant was arrested and held at the Niagara County Jail pending his arraignment. Dee was arraigned in before Eden Town Justice Michael Cooper on one count of Criminal Contempt in the Second Degree (Class “A” misdemeanor) on January 5, 2022. Justice Cooper set bail at $25,000, which the defendant posted.

Both cases from the Town of Eden were transferred to Integrated Domestic Violence Court and were pending before State Supreme Court Justice Deborah A. Haendiges.

It is further alleged that between January 18, 2022 and February 20, 2022, the defendant communicated with the victim knowingly in violation of the order of protection. In the communications, the defendant allegedly asked the victim to not comply with court orders related to his pending criminal charges.

The female victim in the domestic violence-related matters has pending criminal charges in the Town of Eden. The defendant is the complainant in one of the pending cases. Following the defendant’s arrest, the Erie County District Attorney’s Office recused itself from all cases against the female victim. The Wyoming County District Attorney’s Office was appointed as a special prosecutor.

Dee is scheduled to return on Monday, May 9, 2022 at 11:30 a.m. for a pre-trial conference. He remains released on bail previously posted in Eden Town Court.

If convicted of all charges, Dee faces a maximum sentence of one year in jail.

DA Flynn commends the Erie County Sheriff’s Office and the Eden Police Department for their work in these investigations.All of the cases are being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Noha A. Elnakib of the Special Victims/Domestic Violence Bureau and Assistant District Attorney Gary M. Ertel of the Public Integrity Unit.

 As are all persons accused of a crime, the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.