A 37-year-old Utica man and a 31-year-old Aurelius man are facing second-degree attempted rape charges after a multi-agency sting operation targeting alleged online exploitation of children in Cayuga County. Oo Zai Pwa and Kenneth Weigand were arrested on August 31, 2026, and both now face Class E felony offenses tied to the operation.
The arrests stemmed from a coordinated effort involving the Cayuga County Sheriff's Office, the Auburn Police Department, the New York State Police, the Finger Lakes Drug Task Force, the Cayuga County District Attorney's Office and the FBI, according to Finger Lakes Daily News. The New York State Police Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, which investigates crimes involving the online exploitation of children, played a central role in the investigation that led to both arrests.
Under New York Penal Law, attempted rape in the second degree is classified as a Class E felony sex offense carrying a maximum sentence of up to four years in state prison, according to the Westchester County District Attorney. Charges like these typically arise from digital communications in which a suspect allegedly believes they are messaging a minor under 15, but is instead speaking with an undercover officer.
Differing Custody Outcomes After Arraignment
Both men were arraigned and initially held at the Cayuga County Jail. Pwa was released on his own recognizance, while Weigand remains in custody on $20,000 bail. The differing outcomes trace back to Cayuga County's Centralized Arraignment Part system, which detains felony suspects arrested by municipal or state police at the jail for off-hours initial bail hearings before a designated magistrate, per the Newport Dispatch.
Cayuga County Sheriff Brian Schenck said the operation demonstrates the importance of cooperation among local, state and federal law enforcement agencies in identifying people who allegedly target children online. Auburn Police Chief Matthew Androsko credited the officers and agencies involved in the investigation, the Daily News reported. Authorities have said additional investigations connected to the operation remain ongoing.
Part of a Statewide Enforcement Pattern
This is not the first time Cayuga County agencies have carried out this kind of operation. In June 2025, the Cayuga County Sheriff's Office, New York State Police, Finger Lakes Drug Task Force, Cayuga County District Attorney's Office and FBI conducted a multi-day joint online child sex sting that led to two arrests, according to a post cited by Fingerlakes1.com. And in a separate Cayuga County case, 68-year-old Frederick Petrie of Weedsport surrendered to the Sheriff's Office in April 2026 after a January FBI tip led to a search warrant and felony charges of possessing a sexual performance by a child, the Finger Lakes Daily News reported.
The tactics mirror a broader pattern across New York. In August 2025, a joint operation by the New York State Police, FBI and ICAC Task Force in Broome County resulted in attempted second-degree rape charges against three men under similar undercover conditions, according to the New York State Police. More recently, a September 2026 Orange County operation charged three men with attempted rape after officers posed as minors online, part of the same statewide enforcement strategy combining local tactical personnel with state and federal cyber-investigative resources.
Scale of the State's Online Exploitation Caseload
The ICAC Task Force Pwa and Weigand's case falls under is one of 61 regional task force networks nationwide supported by federal funding from the U.S. Department of Justice, bringing together more than 60 federal, state and local agencies across New York to investigate technology-facilitated child exploitation, according to MissingKids.org. In 2023, the New York State Police ICAC Task Force received more than 22,000 CyberTipline leads and supported over 4,000 legal subpoena requests in online child exploitation investigations, the agency has reported.
That caseload has prompted new state investment. In January 2024, Governor Kathy Hochul announced $7.4 million in state budget funding allocated to the New York State Police to modernize digital forensics and expand the Internet Crimes Against Children Unit, according to the New York State Executive Chamber. The added forensic capacity is intended to help investigators analyze seized phones and computers more quickly during active cases.
Residents with information related to the Cayuga County investigation can contact the Sheriff's Office tip line at 315-253-1222, through its online web portal, or via the SaferWatch mobile application. Officials have said that additional investigations tied to the August 30-31 operation remain ongoing.
