Editor’s Note: This story contains discussions of child abuse that may be disturbing. Reader discretion is advised. If you suspect a child is being abused, find out how to report it in your state here. To connect with a counselor, you can call the National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-422-4253.
PALERMO, N.Y. (WSYR-TV) – A Central New York man is accused of raping a 5-year-old girl and sexually abusing two others. But this isn’t the first time Ryan Pontello has faced child sex abuse allegations.
As NewsNation local affiliate WSYR first reported in June, Pontello had a history of targeting young children, including a case from more than a decade ago, when Pontello admitted to being aroused by young girls.
So, why wasn’t he flagged as a higher-risk offender or behind bars, long before now?
NewsChannel 9’s Rachel Polansky spoke with everyone involved in the earlier case: the victim, the investigator, and the district attorney’s office. There’s a new district attorney in charge now, and he said the case should have been handled differently.
“It happened again:” A teenager, who says she was abused by Pontello as a child, shares her story
Pontello, now 34, was arrested earlier this summer. Investigators say he lured a young girl into the woods and committed sex crimes.
But back in 2013, he was arrested for sexually abusing another child — a 5-year-old girl in Oswego County who said the abuse continued for two years.
“I just remember crying and breaking down, not for myself, more for the fact that it happened again,” she said through tears. “It wasn’t just one time. It was multiple. I couldn’t tell you how many times. It was way more than 10.”
Today, she’s 17, an honor roll student and a star athlete, living in another state. But in 2011, she was just three years old, and she believes she was Pontello’s first victim.
“It was any time I was alone with him. That’s when he would touch me or touch himself,” she said.
She said the abuse happened in her home in Palermo in Oswego County. Pontello was a neighbor and her brother’s friend. She only knew him by his nickname: “Goofy.”
“I was scared. I was terrified. He told me if I told anyone, he would kill me and then my parents. As a child, I believed him,” she said.
She kept that secret for two years, until one day, she shut down at the mention of his name. Her mother noticed and she told her what happened.
Her mom called the New York State Police, and investigator Ben Miller picked up the phone.
“I did have enough for a felony:” Investigator who first arrested Ryan Pontello said felony charges were warranted in 2013
“Only case I had where someone was nicknamed Goofy,” Miller recalled.
Miller is now retired from the New York State Police. But even 12 years later, he still remembers the case and the family.
“The victim was very credible, so we knew that something had happened. And when he told me nothing had happened, I knew he was lying,” Miller added.
We obtained those original police interviews, including Pontello’s own alarming words: “I am admitting that I have a problem that I am attracted to young girls… I knew what I was doing was wrong, but the reason I did it was because I am aroused by young girls.”
Investigator Miller built his case and made the arrest.
“You arrested him on felony charges. Did you think you had enough for a felony?” Polansky asked Miller.
“I did have enough for a felony, and just to be sure, I did consult with the DA’s office at the time who agreed with me,” Miller said. “And so we charged him with a felony, he was arraigned on a felony.”
Why wasn’t he prosecuted for a felony? The Oswego County District Attorney at the time, Greg Oakes, declined to comment, saying he now works for the State Attorney General’s Office.
“We would’ve prosecuted that case as a felony:” Current Oswego County District Attorney said he would have handled the case differently
So, we took our questions to his successor, current Oswego County District Attorney, Anthony DiMartino.
“Would you have pushed for a felony in this case?” Polansky asked DiMartino.
“Looking at the case now as we speak, if it happened today in my administration, we most certainly would’ve pushed for a felony disposition on this,” DiMartino said. “We would’ve pursued that as a felony. We would’ve prosecuted that case as a felony, absolutely.”
But Pontello did not face a felony. Instead, he cut a deal, pleading to a misdemeanor sex abuse charge. And the details of the case never went public.
Pontello also underwent a Sex Offender Risk Assessment, or a SORA. Despite admitting he’s attracted to young children — he scored a 65, which classified him as a Level One Sex Offender, which is the lowest risk — that meant his name never went on the public sex offender registry.
“Is it disappointing?” Polansky asked retired investigator Miller.
“Yes. It is disappointing. You do a lot of work and then arrest someone of a felony, and they’re not convicted of a felony. It’s disappointing,” Miller said. “Clearly, he wasn’t categorized high enough because he did reoffend.”
If Pontello had been convicted of a felony, Oswego County DA DiMartino said there would have been more supervision — and more oversight.
“The felony disposition could have gotten him ten years’ probation. He would’ve been in a sex offender court. He would’ve been periodically reporting to a sex offender. There would’ve been a lot more protections under a felony,” DiMartino added.
And those protections, he said, could have changed what came next — and potentially protected other children.
“This case is now haunting Oswego County, unfortunately,” DiMartino added.
More than a decade later, the girl from the 2013 case has found her voice.
“I think I was robbed of my justice. I don’t blame the investigator, and I’m grateful for the investigator. It’s not his fault. It’s everyone else’s,” she said, pointing the finger at Oswego County’s justice system. “They could’ve stopped this.”
Today, she said she’s sharing her story for the little girls who can’t.
“I know that 5-year-old is gonna remember for life what that man did to her. I hope she knows she’s not alone. And I hope she knows I’m doing this for them. I’m coming out with my story for them, so they know they’re not alone,” she said through tears.