A level three (highest degree) sex offender who was employed by the City of Syracuse's Department of Public Works (DPW) was just arrested on multiple charges for sexual exploitation of a minor. James Desantis, 45 years old, who has since been let go from his position, was hired in 2017 despite having been convicted twice of raping underage girls.
City officials are shaking their heads over how such a despicable man was employed, but it appears that their legislation allowed it. The "Ban the Box" law, passed by the city council in 2014, restricts the city and its contractors from asking about a job applicant's criminal history, and requires that background checks be delayed until after a job offer has been extended.
Absolutely insane story out of Syracuse, NY
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) July 8, 2026
A City employee who’s a registered s*x offender, was arrested on child s*x crimes after Democrat-run city council BANNED the city from asking job applicants about their criminal history
James DeSantis is a level 3 sex offender with… pic.twitter.com/2F2gT2to5I
Prior to the incident, the city only required background checks for workers hired by the city’s Department of Parks, Recreation and Youth Programs, the Syracuse Police Department, and the city’s Building Trades division within the DPW.
Desantis was arrested by the Onondaga County Sheriff's Office for a laundry list of felony charges, including attempted rape in the first degree, luring a child, two counts of sexual abuse, coercion, two counts of aggravated sexual abuse, stalking, and disseminating indecent material to a minor. He was also charged with three misdemeanors.
Syracuse Mayor Sharon Owens gave a statement regarding the situation, saying,
The individual arrested has been terminated effective immediately. These allegations are horrific. Our thoughts are with the victim and her family as they endure an unimaginable ordeal. I will be meeting with my senior leadership team to conduct a thorough review of our existing hiring policies and procedures, including more thorough background checks for sex related offenses.
According to local outlets, however, the city refrained from answering a number of questions regarding the nature of Desantis's tenure as a city employee and whether city officials were aware of his record.
The Mayor said that the City of Syracuse is now cross-checking current employees with sex offender registries and will be requiring background checks for all city employees in light of this event.
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