Syracuse fires employee after sex offender arrest in child exploitation case

Syracuse fired James M. Desantis after Onondaga County sheriff’s detectives arrested the city employee in a child exploitation case involving a 12-year-old girl. Desantis, 45, of Syracuse, was identified by investigators as a New York State Risk Level 3 registered sex offender.

The case began with a report of a young girl and an older male in a parking lot. Detectives later reviewed Snapchat messages that indicated physical sexual contact had occurred. Desantis was booked into the Onondaga County Justice Center on July 2 and now faces a long list of felony and misdemeanor counts, including attempted rape in the first degree, luring a child to commit a felony, sexual abuse, coercion, stalking and obscene performance charges. He was arrested on 13 criminal counts and pleaded not guilty to charges including indecent material to minors, obscenity and acting in a manner injurious to a child under 17.

Investigators also warned that there may be additional victims and asked anyone with information to come forward.

Mayor Sharon Owens said Desantis was fired and said she would review hiring policies and background-check procedures. She learned of the arrest Monday morning and said the city would add background checks for all potential city employees. Desantis had worked for the Syracuse Department of Public Works as a crew leader.

The city’s human resources policy is meant to balance fair employment opportunities with the city’s right to deny employment when direct-relationship or unreasonable-risk standards are not met. New York’s sex offender registry publicly lists only level 2 and level 3 offenders, and level 3 offenders must personally verify their addresses every 90 days and report employer information to the state Division of Criminal Justice Services.