Cary man sentenced to 5 years in prison after violating probation in child strangulation case

A Cary man was resentenced to five years in prison for strangling a child after authorities said he violated his probation by testing positive for drugs and alcohol.

Ryan A. Poltzer, 44, was resentenced to five years in prison on Dec. 20 by Judge Tiffany Davis.

Poltzer had entered into a plea deal in the strangulation case last year and was sentenced to four years of felony probation with special conditions, according to McHenry County court records. In exchange for his plea to aggravated domestic battery, additional charges were dismissed, including aggravated battery and two counts of causing the life or health of a child to be endangered, records show.

But McHenry County Assistant State’s Attorney Margaret O’Brien filed a petition to revoke Poltzer’s probation after he violated the terms by failing to report to his probation officer, to complete drug and alcohol treatment, to submit a urinalysis six times or to file proof of psychological evaluation and by tampering with an alcohol monitoring device 26 times, authorities alleged. He also tested positive for cocaine, benzodiazepine and alcohol in May and again for cocaine in July, according to court documents.

Prosecutors alleged that in December 2022, Poltzer strangled a child, impeding the child’s normal breathing by “applying pressure to the neck or throat,” according to the indictment. He also was accused of driving a vehicle while drinking alcohol with two child passengers, according to the indictment and criminal complaint.

While out of county jail awaiting trial on these charges, Poltzer was charged by Island Lake police with driving under the influence in 2023, according to court records. He was found guilty and sentenced to one year of court supervision.