An inmate at an upstate New York prison was on the verge of freedom when police arrested him on suspicion of raping a 14-year-old girl he had come into contact with while incarcerated.
Ronald L. Burris III, 21, was scheduled to be released from the Ulster County Jail in Kingston on Nov. 20, but detectives charged him with having sex with a minor multiple times before he was released. He was charged with two counts of rape and other crimes. Imprisonment, According to the Ulster County Sheriff's Office.
The accused predator was incarcerated on unrelated charges when investigators discovered something unusual.
Police began investigating in September after receiving a tip that Burris was having sexually explicit electronic conversations with a 14-year-old girl while in custody, the sheriff's office said.
Upon further investigation, authorities learned that the patient had sex with the child several times over the summer.
Burris, of Saugerties, was also charged with endangering the welfare of a child.
He was arrested and arraigned in Saugerties Justice Court, the sheriff's office said.
Burris was returned to the Ulster County Jail and is being held on $30,000 bail.
