SYRACUSE, N.Y. — The Onondaga County District Attorney’s Office announced on Tuesday that Level 1 sex offender Ryan Pontello has been indicted on 48 counts for sex crimes against children.
Specifically, the indictment includes charges of rape, sexual abuse, possession and production of child porn.
The indictment comes months after his June 8, 2025, arrest on charges of rape, luring a child, sexual abuse and acting in a manner injurious to children. The Onondaga County Sheriff’s Office said Pontello, of Clay, lured a 5-year-old girl with candy from a playground on Bear Road in North Syracuse into a wooded area and committed sex crimes. He was also accused of crimes against a 3-year-old.
Following those charges, he was charged again for more sexual offenses against a 3-year-old toddler on June 19, 2025. He was 33-years-old at the time.
The district attorney’s office said the indictment includes six different victims for sexual crimes committed between 2022 and 2025.
After his Summer 2025 charges, investigators searched Pontello’s Galaxy S24+ smartphone and found child sexual abuse material on it. A criminal complaint said Pontello had a video from Summer 2022 of him inappropriately touching a 3-year-old girl’s private parts. Police say he knew the victim.
A second criminal complaint said the sex offender had two videos from Summer 2022, touching the private parts of a 4-year-old girl. Investigators say he also knew this victim.
A third criminal complaint said the sex offender used Facebook Messenger in February 2025 and asked the aunt of the victim about a child’s private parts. He then also directed the aunt to send him naked photos and videos of the victim. The victim, a 3-year-old, was described as being “still in diapers.”
Pontello was charged with two counts of sexual abuse, two counts of promoting a sexual performance by a child, two counts of possessing a sexual performance by a child and two counts of use of a child in a sexual performance for the alleged crimes committed in Summer 2022.
He was charged with promoting a sexual performance by a child for the alleged crime committed in February 2025.
In 2011, Pontello was convicted of misdemeanor sexual abuse of a then-5-year-old girl in the Town of Palermo, N.Y. He was convicted of the crime in 2013. However, he was not registered as a Level 1 sex offender until 2016.
“I am sorry for this happening and I need help with my problem,” Pontello told prosecutors at the time, regarding his conviction. He also said that he was “aroused by young girls.”
That Level 1 designation means that Pontello is practically hidden from communities. Unlike the Level 2 and Level 3 designations, Level 1 sex offenders’ information is not readily available for public browsing.
The courts determine the designation. A Level 1 designation is given when the courts believe the convict is less likely to reoffend than those with the other two designations.
The most severe indictment Pontello is facing is predatory sexual assault against a child. If convicted, he faces 25 years in prison.
This is a developing story.
