ALBANY – The former co-owner of the Del Lanes bowling alley in Bethlehem pleaded guilty on Wednesday, June 7, to the felony of promoting the sexual performance by a child, said District Attorney David Soares.
Marvin Sontz, 61, of Delmar, faces up to two years in prison followed by 10 years of post-release supervision when he is sentenced on Aug. 2 by Judge Thomas Breslin. He will also have to register as a sex offender.
In December, 2016, Bethlehem police investigated the possibility that Sontz sent a 14-year-old girl who he knew indecent material. On Dec. 9, 2016, Sontz attempted to procure a photograph of a performance of a child in a sexual situation.

The guilty plea, said Soares in a statement, covers all pending charges.
The investigation began when a town resident complained to police about their child receiving child pornography through a social media site. Police were able to track the material to Sontz and he was placed under arrest on Dec. 20, 2016.
At the time, Commander Adam Hornick said there was no evidence suggesting any criminal activity took place at Del Lanes and no indication the subject of the material sent to the victim was a Bethlehem resident.
Sontz, who was banned from Del Lanes after his arrest, was initially charged with the felonies of disseminating indecent materials and possession a sexual performance by a child as well as the misdemeanor of endangering the welfare of a child.
He was also part owner of the East Greenbush Bowling Center was a bowling coach at Bethlehem Central as recently as the 2014-15 season. Del Lanes had been the home alley for both the boys and girls high school bowling teams.