A 28-year-old Kingston man accused of having sexual contact with an underage female is sitting in the Ulster County Jail after New York State Police arrested him following a two-month investigation. Austin Irwin was taken into custody on October 8 and remains locked up in Kingston as of this week, with his case now moving through Ulster County's court system.
Two-Month Probe Ends in Arrest at Ellenville Barracks
State police logs show Irwin was taken into custody at 4:03 p.m. on October 8 by Troop F officers attached to the Ellenville station, according to New York State Police. Investigators opened their inquiry on August 6, and over the following two months they built a case alleging that Irwin engaged in sexual activity with an underage female, as reported by Daily Voice. State police announced the arrest Tuesday.
Officials charged Irwin with misdemeanor sexual misconduct. Police reporting logs classify the charge under New York Penal Law § 130.20 subsection 1, which defines the offense as engaging in vaginal sexual contact without consent, per New York State Police. Despite the misdemeanor classification, the charge carries real legal weight: Sexual Misconduct is a Class A misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in jail, as stated in the sex-offense penalties document.
Registration Requirement Looms Over Conviction
The stakes extend beyond potential jail time. Under New York Correction Law § 168-a, a conviction for misdemeanor Sexual Misconduct under Penal Law § 130.20 is explicitly designated a registerable sex offense, meaning a conviction would trigger mandatory registration under the state's Sex Offender Registration Act, per the New York State Unified Court System.
Irwin was arraigned in Ulster County, where officials set cash bail at $2,500, a bond at $10,000, or a partially secured bond at $20,000, the Daily Voice report notes. He was processed through Ulster County's Centralized Arraignment Part, which operates out of the Ulster County Law Enforcement Center in Kingston to handle off-hours and countywide court proceedings, according to a resolution filed by the Town of New Paltz. Irwin was booked into the Ulster County Jail in Kingston. He remained behind bars as of Tuesday, per online records cited in the same report.
Regional Agency Covers Five Mid-Hudson Counties
Troop F, which led the investigation, is headquartered in Middletown and oversees state trooper operations across five Mid-Hudson counties — Ulster, Orange, Rockland, Sullivan, and Greene, according to New York State Police. The Town of Esopus is a rural community in eastern Ulster County along the west bank of the Hudson River, situated between the city of Kingston and the town of Lloyd.
Ulster County courts have been handling major violent crime cases this fall, including an October guilty plea from a Kerhonkson man in a second-degree murder case.
Irwin was arrested, arraigned and detained in Ulster County.
