Former Employee of Short Hills Gym Sentenced For Sexual Assault

A former employee of Short Hills gym Can Do Fitness Center has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for sexually assaulting three boys.

Jose Reyes, 35, of Newark, was a manager at the Short Hills facility at the time of his arrest in 2009, but there is no evidence he assaulted any children there.

He was sentenced to a total of 20 years by Judge Robert H. Gardner—10 years for one count of first degree aggravated sexual assault and five years each for two counts of second degree sexual assault. According to the prosecutor's office, he must serve 85 percent of his 20-year prison sentence before he is eligible for parole.

Reyes will serve his sentence at the Adult Diagnostic and Treatment Center, the state prison for sex offenders, located in Avenel, according to a prosecutor's office press release. When Reyes is released from prison, he will be a registered sex offender under Megan's Law and will be on parole supervision for life.

Reyes pleaded guilty on March 12, and Assistant Prosecutor Deborah Freier, who handled the case, described Reyes as "a wolf in sheep's clothing" in a press release.

"He was a single male, without children of his own, who sought out situations in which he could be around children. He befriended women with children and then offered to baby sit. He portrayed himself as someone who loved children,'' she said in the press release. "This is an all too common case of a man who was beloved and trusted by parents and abused that trust. We agreed to the 20-year sentence to spare the children and their parents from the additional trauma of a trial. From that stand point, this is a good result."

Authorities opened an investigation when the mother of a 17-year-old contacted the Bloomfield Police Department, alleging Reyes had sexually assaulted her son on numerous occasions when the boy was between the ages of 9 to 12. Reyes pleaded guilty to the allegations. Reyes also pleaded guilty to molesting a Montclair boy, now 15 years old, on numerous occasions from November 2006 to November 2007. He also admitted sexually assaulting a 6-year-old Newark boy from March 2008 to March 2009. The sexual assaults occurred at Reyes' home and other locations, but not at the Short Hills fitness club.