Niskayuna Police are charging a man with predatory sexual assault against a child and endangering the welfare of a child. Allegedly, Robert John Cronin, 33, sexually assaulted a child under 13 years old — a requirement for a charge to occur.

The child is an 11-year-old girl. 

Authorities found out about Cronin through a child abuse awareness hotline in November. Both Niskayuna Police and Schenectady County Child Protective Services were involved in the investigation, which lasted roughly two months.

Niskayuna PD say Cronin was arrested Monday and was charged the same day. 

Earlier, the department were unable to confirm if pregnancy occurred, but court documents say Cronin did get the girl pregnant. Those documents also say these events occurred sometime in February or March of 2018. Niskayuna Police say it happened in the northern end of town. 

Police say Cronin and the victim knew each other but would not say what their relationship was. Wednesday night, Cronin pleaded not guilty in Niskayuna town court. 

Also on Wednesday night, police say the victim is safe and CPS is working with her family. Cronin is being held at Schenectady County Jail without bail and is due back in court Friday. 

When this story was released Wednesday evening, a commenter on the Facebook post alleged Cronin was a Lyft driver. The company says he passed his background check in the application process, but they had no knowledge of this behavior when he applied.

"The safety of the Lyft community is our top priority and the allegations described are deeply disturbing. While we had no knowledge of this behavior when he applied to drive with Lyft, he has been permanently banned from the Lyft platform," said a Lyft spokeswoman to Spectrum News Thursday.