BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — A Dunkirk man has been charged with four counts of second-degree rape after a Chautauqua County Sheriff’s Office investigation.
The sheriff's office said around 3:30 a.m. on June 3, deputies responded to an address in Forestville for a report of a crime in progress. When deputies arrived, they located a vehicle of interest and identified the occupants, a juvenile and an adult male – later identified as 44-year-old Vernal F. Carpenter of Dunkirk. After a preliminary investigation, the vehicle and all the property inside were seized. Carpenter was detained and then transported to the Sheriff’s Office for questioning.
According to the sheriff's office, after further investigation, Carpenter and the juvenile allegedly engaged in several instances of sexual contact, both on June 3 and on additional dates.
Carpenter was charged with four counts of second-degree rape and transported to the Chautauqua County Jail to await centralized arraignment.
