A convicted sex offender from Saratoga County is facing new charges just weeks after being arrested for allegedly trying to engage a teenage boy in sexually explicit conversations online.
Gary Ryan has now been arrested twice in two different counties on similar charges, and investigators believe there are more victims.
Ryan is now accused of having sexual contact with a child younger than 13. According to the Saratoga County Sheriff’s Office, those incidents took place 2004 and 2008 in Mechanicville.
Information prompting this arrest came after Ryan was arrested in Colonie for allegedly trying to have a sexually explicit online conversation with a 14-year-old boy.
Ryan is a registered sex offender who was convicted of child pornography charges in 2008.
Investigators from the sheriff’s office say Ryan claimed in online chats with minors that he volunteered with multiple community organizations. They don’t know if that’s true, but are reminding parents to be very vigilant monitoring their kids' online activity.
“Grooming tactics is how we describe them, and it makes you really want to make sure that you monitor your children and who they are talking to," said Capt. Jeff Brown of the Saratoga County Sheriff's Office, "because there really are bad people out there who can hide behind the cover of a computer, electronic device and pretend. It is easy for them to portray themselves as good people when really they are the devil.”
Ryan is behind held in the Albany County Jail on those charges out of Colonie. Authorities are still investigating.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Colonie Police or the Saratoga County Sheriff’s Office.