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In Riverhead, New York, a Guatemalan national accused of child rape was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), bypassing New York’s sanctuary laws that might have otherwise led to his release without bail. This action kept him off the streets for months until an indictment was secured, according to the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office.
“We had to skillfully navigate two progressive reforms to hold the defendant accountable for his alleged heinous crimes,” stated District Attorney Ray Tierney.
Under current state policies, prosecutors were prohibited from requesting cash bail or bond for the initial charge of endangering a child’s welfare, as noted by the DA’s office.
Furthermore, New York’s 2020 “Protect Our Courts Act” posed additional challenges, as ICE agents could face legal consequences for arresting the suspect at the courthouse following his release without bail.
Left: Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney addresses the media at a press conference in Hauppauge, New York, on April 4, 2024. Right: Carlos Aguilar Reynoso, the alleged child rapist and illegal immigrant, in an ICE booking photo. (Images: James Carbone/Newsday RM via Getty Images, Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office)
“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,” Tierney said. “My message to our state legislators and governor is simple – stop protecting the rights of alleged child rapists at the expense of child victims.”
Carlos Aguilar Reynoso, 27, has now been indicted for the alleged rape of a 5-year-old girl he was supposed to be babysitting while her mother was at work on Feb. 1. Her injuries were severe enough to require surgery, according to prosecutors.
Suffolk County District attorney Ray Tierney appears in court for Rex Heuermann’s status conference at Suffolk County Court in Riverhead, New York on Wednesday, January 29, 2025. (James Carbone/Newsday)
Police arrested Reynoso the next day — before the crime lab finished testing the evidence. So he was initially only charged with endangering the welfare of a child.
Tierney’s office and the Suffolk County Police Department found a loophole. They released Reynoso with only a desk appearance ticket, rather than bringing him to court — and that allowed them to coordinate his immediate arrest by ICE for allegedly entering the U.S. illegally.
He was in ICE custody for 11 days while DNA testing was underway. When the results came in, they showed a match between Reynoso and samples collected from the 5-year-old victim, according to Tierney’s office.
It would be more than a month before his March 23 arraignment on five charges, including three felonies: sexual assault of a child, first-degree rape and first-degree sex abuse.
Kathy Hochul, governor of New York, speaks during a news conference at the WIN NYC family shelter in New York, US, on Thursday, March 5, 2026. (Adam Gray/Bloomberg)
He remained in ICE custody the whole time.
In a statement, ICE’s New York Enforcement Removal Operations field office director, Kenneth Genalo, said the case shows how Empire State’s sanctuary laws expose helpless victims to “unnecessary harm.”
“Had there not been coordination in this case, this depraved criminal — who brutally terrorized a young child who will forever bear the physical and emotional scars of this violent attack — would be free to harm additional children in our state,” he said in a statement posted to X.
The charges in the indictment rose to a level that allowed the judge to order Reynoso held without bail at the Suffolk County Jail in Riverhead. He faces up to life in prison if convicted.
“I would also like to commend ICE as a law enforcement partner for preventing this defendant from potentially fleeing these very serious charges,” Tierney said.
Authorities said they declined to release specifics about the case, including where the abuse took place, in order to protect the victim’s identity.
Reynoso is due back in court on April 27.
The DA is also taking a hands-on role in the prosecution of suspected Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermann and has been a critic of bail rules that he has said allow allegedly dangerous people to go back into the community.
Those include a group accused of dismembering someone and scattering body parts around the town of Babylon in 2024.
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