VISTA — An Escondido man arrested earlier this month on suspicion of shooting and killing two people in Ramona was arraigned in Vista Superior Court on Monday on a long list of child sexual abuse charges.
The new complaint against Ryan Wesley Proffitt, 33, outlines 16 charges related to the sexual abuse of two different children, including sexual intercourse and oral copulation with a child 10 years old or younger and forcible lewd acts upon a child under the age of 14.
The complaint also includes one charge of felony child abuse, stating that Proffitt caused great bodily harm to a child. According to the complaint, the abuse of the children took place between 2020 and 2025.
Proffitt pleaded not guilty to the charges, which come three weeks after Proffitt was arrested on suspicion of shooting and killing Navy sailor Courtney Chandler, 28, of Ramona, and Nicholas McClure, 32, of San Diego County, on the evening of July 6 in Ramona.
That day, Proffitt called police to report that he had been involved in a “lover’s quarrel,” and that two people were dead. When deputies responded to the home along 11th Street, they discovered Proffitt sitting on the porch drinking a beer, and Chandler and McClure inside the home with traumatic gunshot wounds.
Both died from their injuries, and Proffitt was arrested at the scene.
At his arraignment on July 9, prosecutors said Proffitt and Chandler were in an open relationship and had been living together. They said Proffitt became jealous after Chandler began a relationship with McClure, who also moved in and had been living with the couple for around a week and a half.
Prosecutors said Proffitt confronted the two about their relationship with a loaded gun, and then shot McClure multiple times before also shooting Chandler.
Proffitt pleaded not guilty to the murder charges.
The two cases are moving forward separately in the courts. Proffitt’s next hearing in the child sex abuse case will be Aug. 6, and his next hearing in the murder case will be Sept. 29.
“The cases remain separate at this time,” said San Diego County District Attorney’s Office spokesperson Tanya Sierra.
This story was updated to add information from the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office.
