SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Pre-trial testimony was held in an Onondaga County Courtroom on Monday in the case of a convicted sex offender facing a 48-count indictment containing new child sex crime charges.Onondaga County Sheriff’s Detective Kellie Guinn testified that she was working on June 9, 2025, just one day after Level 1 sex offender Ryan Pontello, of Clay, was arrested and charged. She said she spoke with a 9-year-old female witness at the Child Advocacy Center.Before Judge Matthew Doran, Detective Guinn said she and Detective Kranz showed the girl a photo of Pontello and photos of five other people with “like characteristics” of Pontello. The other photos were gathered from suspects whose photos already exist in the county systems.PREVIOUS | Suppression hearing scheduled in child predator Ryan Pontello’s new child sex crime caseGuinn said the girl was informed that Pontello’s photo would be mixed in with the other five. Detective Kranz instructed the girl to point to the suspect. Guinn was in the room while Kranz administered the array. Guinn said she stayed there so the girl would have a “familiar face” in the room with her.Guinn said the girl pointed to the photo of Pontello when asked to identify the suspect.During cross-examination, Guinn told the court that she remained involved in the case after interviewing the 9-year-old girl. She said she was a part of other interviews, but did not specify with whom.Guinn is a 13-year veteran with the sheriff’s office.The defense did not call any witnesses to the stand. The defense also declined to make any arguments.Pontello is scheduled to return to Onondaga County Court on Dec. 16 at 9:30 a.m. His trial is scheduled for January 2027.BACKGROUNDPontello was arrested on June 8, 2025, 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 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 sex crimes against a 3-year-old.Shortly after his arrest, Pontello was charged again with more sexual offenses against a 3-year-old toddler on June 19, 2025.After he was charged in June 2025, 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 said he was familiar with the victim.A second criminal complaint said Pontello had two videos on his phone from Summer 2022. The videos allegedly showed Pontello touching the private parts of a 4-year-old girl. Investigators said 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 the summer of 2022.He was charged with promoting a sexual performance by a child for the alleged crime committed in February 2025.Altogether, the 48-count indictment against Pontello includes six different victims for crimes committed between 2022 and 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.That Level 1 designation indicates that Pontello is largely invisible to 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.
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