Staff Report

Gordon C. White

SYRACUSE — A Syracuse man was recently arrested for allegedly inappropriately touching a child.

Gordon C. White, 42, 12191 N. Woodland Acres Drive, Syracuse, is charged with sexual misconduct with a minor, a level 5 felony.

On Oct. 16, 2023, a Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Office deputy responded to a report of a child being inappropriately touched by an adult in Syracuse.

The deputy spoke with a woman, who said a child was visiting another child at a residence when they called the woman and asked to be picked up from the residence. The woman said the child was crying during the call.

According to court documents, the child told the woman White was at the residence and inappropriately touched them. White told the woman the allegations were not true and said he and the children just tickled each other.

The child was interviewed at Safe Harbor Advocacy Center on Oct. 18, 2023. During the interview, the child went into detail on White inappropriately touching them and said White massaged them. They also said White exposed himself to the child.

Upon searching the child’s cellphone, officers found videos showing White rubbing the child’s head, slapping their buttocks, and lying between the child’s legs.

A KCSO detective interviewed White on Nov. 13, 2023. White said he always tickled both children. On the night of the incident, White said he tickled and touched the child’s legs, but did not inappropriately touch them. Upon being shown one of the videos from the child’s phone, White said in retrospect his behavior with the child did not make him look the best, but that nothing was done maliciously.

On Nov. 28, 2023, the detective interviewed one of White’s relatives, who said she never witnessed any behavior toward the child that raised any red flags. Upon being shown videos from the child’s cellphone, the relative said the content did not make White look good and that she didn’t know how she felt about the content.

White was booked in the Kosciusko County Jail on Aug. 27, 2024.