GLOVERSVILLE, N.Y. — A cautionary tale from Gloversville on Friday: Police say a neighborhood babysitter is under arrest for a criminal sex act against a child.

Robert Velett, a 44-year-old registered sex offender who lives on Washington Street, is facing the felony charge after a five-month investigation revealed the crime.

According to police, Velett befriended a neighborhood family on Washington Street, and was asked to babysit their children. Velett never revealed that he was a sex offender — and given the chance, police say he preyed again by engaging in sex with a minor younger than 10 years old.

It is Velett's second such charge in less than 20 years, after being convicted for sex abuse of a 6-year-old in 1999.

"He's a predator. He's an animal," said Gloversville Police Captain Michael Scott. "We prefer that people place their children in a private daycare, and we realize sometimes the financial circumstances prevent that. But do your homework. In today's day, with technology, there's no reason in the world not to. The information is out there, you just have to go and look for it."

New York State sponsors a sex offender registry that allows anyone to search their neighborhoods or look up people's names to check on their sex offender statuses.

Velett is jailed on $50,000 cash bail pending his next court appearance.