Man Indicted After Rape Of 5-Year-Old In Suffolk County; Child Needed Surgery: DA

SUFFOLK COUNTY, NY — A 27-year-old Guatemalan man was indicted in Suffolk County after the rape of a 5-year-old girl that left her with serious internal injuries requiring surgery, Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney said Monday.

Carlos Aguilar Reynoso was arraigned March 23 before Acting Supreme Court Justice Karen Wilutis on charges including predatory sexual assault against a child, first-degree rape, first-degree sexual abuse, endangering the welfare of a child, and resisting arrest, Tierney said.

Wilutis ordered him held without bail pending the case, according to the DA’s office. Prosecutors said Reynoso faces up to 25 years to life in prison if convicted on the top count.

He is due back in court on April 27.

According to prosecutors, the case began on Feb. 1 when the child’s mother went to work and reportedly left her daughter in Reynoso’s care. When she returned home, she noticed the girl was acting withdrawn and backing away from her, the DA said.

While changing the child, the mother found blood inside the girl’s underwear and asked what had happened, the DA said.

Prosecutors said the child indicated that Reynoso had sexually abused her.

The mother then called a friend, who brought her and the child to a local hospital, where emergency physicians found the girl was still actively bleeding and had suffered internal injuries that required specialized medical care, prosecutors said.

Hospital staff contacted police, who met the family and accompanied the child during her transfer to a specialized children’s hospital in New York City, the DA said.

At that hospital, authorities said, the child underwent a sexual assault forensic examination and surgery to repair physical injuries, the DA said.

Evidence recovered during the examination was later taken to the Suffolk County Crime Laboratory for analysis.

Reynoso was arrested the next day, Feb. 2, but at that point the only charge investigators could file was endangering the welfare of a child because forensic testing was still ongoing, the DA said.

Tierney’s office said that the charge is not bail-eligible under New York law, meaning prosecutors could not ask a judge to set bail.

The DA’s office also said it had concerns that New York’s Protect Our Courts Act would prevent federal immigration authorities from taking Reynoso into custody at a courthouse if he were released there.

According to prosecutors, the DA’s office instead coordinated for Reynoso to be issued a desk appearance ticket from the police precinct rather than being released from court, which allowed federal immigration authorities to take him into custody on immigration charges on Feb. 2.

The office said that while the grand jury investigation continued, prosecutors stayed in regular contact with federal authorities to ensure Reynoso would not be deported before state charges could be brought.

Prosecutors said a search warrant was obtained Feb. 7, and a buccal swab containing Reynoso’s DNA was collected Feb. 8 while he was being held by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement at the Orange County Correctional Facility in Goshen.

On Feb. 13, that DNA was compared with evidence recovered during the child’s sexual assault examination, Tierney said.

The DA’s office said two swabs from the kit were far more likely to have originated from Reynoso than from an unknown person, and that testing also indicated the presence of male seminal fluid on a swab from the victim, the DA said.

Tierney used the case to criticize New York’s bail reform and sanctuary-related laws, saying in a statement that they complicated efforts to keep the defendant in custody while the rape investigation was developing.

Reynoso is being represented by Luigi Belcastro, who was not immediately available for a request for comment.

“Sanctuary laws in New York already make it difficult for police and prosecutors to protect the public, including our most vulnerable. Here, two progressive reforms, Bail Reform and the Protect Our Courts Act, had to be navigated deftly to hold the defendant responsible for his alleged horrific crimes,” said Tierney. “Incredibly, up in Albany right now, there are new sanctuary laws currently under consideration that would have prevented us from even talking to federal immigration authorities. My message to our state legislators and governor is simple: Stop protecting the rights of alleged child rapists at the expense of child victims. I would also like to commend ICE as a law enforcement partner for preventing this defendant from potentially fleeing these very serious charges.”