Suspect in custody, facing two counts of Level 1 felony child molesting

A 30-year-old man, accused of inappropriate sexual behavior including intercourse with a child under the age of 14, was arrested early Friday morning. He’s facing two Level 1 felony counts.

Jesse James W. Cornett, 30, was taken into custody in Monroe County early Friday, September 21, on a warrant issued for Cornett’s arrest in Greene County on Thursday, September 20.

Following an investigation by Det. O’Malley, Greene County Chief Deputy Prosecutor Keven McIntosh filed a criminal case against Cornett on Thursday involving two counts of child molesting, both as Level 1 felonies.

One of the counts is related to an incident that allegedly occurred in early August of 2016, the other one to an incident that allegedly occurred in early March of 2017. In the first, Cornett is accused of having protected sexual intercourse with a victim who was 13 years old at the time. In the other, he’s accused of having unprotected sexual intercourse with the same victim on a later date.

These incidents, and others, were first reported to the Linton Police Department just recently, on Friday, August 24. The LPD then referred the case to the sheriff’s department. GCSD Det. Shawn Cullison took the initial information.

Det. O’Malley, the lead investigator, reported that in interviews with the child at the Greene County Department of Child Services, the child said Cornett had told them not to tell anyone and they were afraid of what he might do. But after a family member questioned what they said was odd behavior by Cornett whenever he was around the child, the child then spoke to a parent and revealed what had been done to them. Another family member then reported the situation to police.

O’Malley said that during this investigation, several attempts were made to contact Cornett for an interview and to locate him at his last known address on Farr Road, Bloomington, with no success.

An updated story with a mug shot and bond information will be posted after Cornett is transferred from Monroe County into the custody of the Greene County Sheriff’s Department.