On Monday at approximately 5 p.m. deputies responded to 40 Catherwood Road in Lansing for a reported sex offense.
A victim reported to deputies that while riding a public transit bus, a male stranger began inappropriately touching her. The male continued forcibly touching her in intimate areas despite multiple attempts to stop him.
At the next step, the victim was able to remove herself from the vehicle and contact police.
However, a short time later deputies arrested and identified Khalid Hatem Faraj, 22, of no permanent address — as the suspect in the investigation.
He was charged with first-degree sex abuse and was arraigned in Lansing Town Court.
He was remanded to the Tompkins County Jail in lieu of $2,000 cash bail or $4,000 secured bond.
However, in an update to this story – investigators and an attorney for the accused say the woman’s account may have been fabricated. As result, the charges against Faraj were dropped.
Authorities say the investigation is ongoing.
