A 36-year-old Aurelius woman is accused of using her own children to get around a court order and reach a man locked up at the Cayuga County Jail — a man the children themselves were legally protected from contacting. Amanda V. Frisby was arrested Wednesday and charged with endangering the welfare of a child, a misdemeanor, after investigators say she had her kids place phone calls to an inmate who was named in an active order of protection involving the children.
The arrest capped an investigation that began August 28 at 11:50 a.m., when the Cayuga County Sheriff's Office started looking into a potential order of protection violation tied to someone incarcerated at the Cayuga County Jail, according to Newport Dispatch. Deputies allege Frisby used her children to facilitate phone calls with the inmate, and that the order of protection barring contact specifically protected the children, not just Frisby herself, according to Fingerlakes1.com. That detail helps explain why deputies pursued a child endangerment charge rather than only a protective-order violation.
How Investigators Traced the Calls
Cayuga County Sheriff Brian Schenck said Frisby used her children to facilitate the phone calls with the inmate, per the sheriff's account relayed in reporting on the case. The timeline laid out by Finger Lakes Daily News shows deputies executed Frisby's arrest at 10:05 a.m. on Wednesday, October 7, roughly six weeks after the investigation opened. Outgoing calls from the Cayuga County Jail, located at 7445 County House Road in Auburn, are routinely recorded, since the facility blocks incoming calls to inmates and requires every outgoing communication to originate from inside the jail, according to facility records published by inmate communications provider ConnectNetwork. That recorded-call system is what typically gives investigators a direct paper trail in cases like this one.
Frisby was released with an appearance ticket rather than held, and she is scheduled to appear in Aurelius Town Court on October 21 at 7 p.m. The court holds its regular criminal sessions on Wednesday evenings at 1241 West Genesee Street Road in Auburn, with Town Justice Raymond E. Lockwood III presiding, according to the Town of Aurelius.
What the Charge Actually Requires
Endangering the welfare of a child under New York Penal Law § 260.10 is a Class A misdemeanor that applies when someone knowingly acts in a way likely to harm a child under 17's physical, mental, or moral welfare, according to statutes published by NYS Open Legislation. Notably, the charge does not require proof that a child was actually physically hurt, and cases like this one routinely trigger parallel civil investigations by Child Protective Services or county social service agencies, according to legal analysis from The Law Office of Matthew Galluzzo, PLLC.
A conviction on the misdemeanor carries up to a year in jail, up to three years of probation, and fines as high as $1,000, per legal guidance published by Saland Law. Separately, violating a court order of protection by routing contact through a third party or a minor child can also expose someone to second-degree criminal contempt charges under Penal Law § 215.50(3), according to guidance from LawHelpNY. It remains unclear whether the Cayuga County District Attorney's Office will pursue that additional charge in Frisby's case.
A Department in Its Final Stretch Under Schenck
The case lands in the final months of Sheriff Brian Schenck's tenure. Schenck announced in late 2025 that he will not seek a third term and plans to retire at the end of December after nearly 30 years in law enforcement, as Hoodline has previously reported. It is one of several child endangerment cases his office has handled this month; Hoodline also covered a separate incident in which a 20-year-old Auburn man was accused of hurling a remote near a baby during a dispute, and a multi-agency sting that charged two men, including an Aurelius resident, with attempted rape.
The Cayuga County Sheriff's Office is asking anyone with additional information about the investigation into Frisby to call deputies at 315-253-1222 or submit an anonymous tip online, according to Fingerlakes1.com's reporting. The identity and custody status of the inmate at the center of the case has not been disclosed, and it is not yet known whether Child Protective Services has opened a separate family court or administrative proceeding regarding the children.
