(WENY) -- Kevin O'Rourke was hired by the Tompkins County Sheriff's Office in August. But the Sheriff's Office says they weren't told O'Rourke was under investigation for a sexual misconduct incident that happened while working at his former employer, the Geneseo Police Department.  

“People expect the most out of us... we have to hold each other to the highest standard possible, and unfortunately, despite our best efforts, it seems like people can get away with stuff until we can uncover it and deal with it ourselves.” Tompkins County Sheriff Derek Osborne said.  

Sheriff Osborne says nothing of note came up on their background investigation into O'Rourke, who transferred from the Geneseo Police Department to the Tompkins County Sheriff's Office. Sheriff Osborne says he does not believe officials in Livingston County withheld any information during that process.  

“We don't know how it happened either,” Osborne said, adding, “We utilize all the tools available to us to try to get the best people in this job that can handle the job of being a law enforcement officer.”   

Sheriff Osborne says this transfer case has been the worst he's dealt with in his career; after running typical background-checking procedures when O'Rourke was transferred. He shares how the process of a lateral transfer works and how law enforcement should proceed when hiring someone.  

“That includes an investigatory interview, checking references, backgrounds, a psychological exam, a polygraph exam, face-to-face interview with a psychiatrist,” Osborne said, adding, “We do our best to try and weed out anybody that may have a potential problem with the way they do their job.”  

To prevent something like this from happening again at any agency in New York State, Sheriff Osborne feels complaints need to be filed in an internal statewide database. He believes this will allow prospective agencies to double-check before making the final decision to hire a new officer or deputy.  

“We have to make sure that Public Safety administrators are taking the time to vet these complaints, take them seriously, and file the information in that database,” Osborne said.  

O'Rourke was arrested Monday, November 28th, by New York State Police. He was then taken to the Livingston County Jail. More information about the allegations regarding O'Rourke can be found on our website.