A grand jury has heard enough evidence to prosecute a suspected serial pedophile.
In a news release sent February 24, Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick wrote that 34-year-old Ryan Pontello faces 48 criminal counts for suspected sexual behavior involving six different children between 2022-2025. The latest case involved a five-year-old girl lured with candy as she played at a park in Clay last summer.
The grand jury has since learned that Pontello is suspected in at least two other cases involving children as young as three. He is also charged with the posession and production of child pornography.
In 2013 an Oswego County judge charged Pontello with felony sexual abuse of a child, but a plea deal allowed him to register as a "low risk" Level One felon in that case, keeping his identity hidden on New York's Sex Offendera Registry.
Child welfare advocates have said that classification protects predators and ultimately allowed Pontello to continue targeting children.
The DA's office will argue for the maximum sentence of 25 years to life in prison if he is found guilty of the most serious charge of predatory sexual assault against a child.
Investigators suspect there are more victims and have asked residents to share any information related to Pontello with Chief Assistant District Attorney Jarrett Woodfork at 315-435-2470.