By Liz Shepherd
InkFreeNews

Daniel Kay Smith

SYRACUSE — A Warsaw man was recently arrested for allegedly interacting with a child in an inappropriate manner.

Daniel Kay Smith, 54, Warsaw, is charged with child molesting, a level 4 felony; and criminal confinement, a level 5 felony.

On Aug. 26, a Syracuse Police officer went to the Veteran’s Memorial Park regarding a report of a man luring a child into a bathroom.

According to court documents, two people said the suspect jumped into a nearby channel. The officer saw the man floating on his back and was assisted by bystanders in a boat, who ferried the officer to the man.

The man, later identified as Smith, did not respond to the officer calling out to him. Upon being detained, when the officer asked him for his name, Smith kept asking why he was being arrested and yelled “Bill of Rights” multiple times. He also asked the officer to put him back in the water and said he was with the CIA.

A man said he was in a home near the park when he noticed Smith lure a young child into a bathroom. The man said he didn’t feel the situation was right and went to intervene. When the man knocked on the bathroom door to ask Smith and the child if they were okay, Smith opened the door and said he was family friends with the child. Smith is not related to the child. When the child didn’t speak up, the man called police and Smith attempted to flee on foot.

The child told officers they were at the park walking their dog when Smith tried to kiss them.

During an interview at the Safe Harbor Child Advocacy Center, the child said Smith grabbed their arm and kissed them on the cheek.

Smith has prior convictions for possession of methamphetamine, dealing meth, possession of two or more chemical reagents, burglary, and operating a vehicle as a habitual traffic violator.

Smith was booked in the Kosciusko County Jail on Aug. 27.