NY prosecutor sidesteps sanctuary law and coordinates ICE arrest of Guatemalan child rape suspect

RIVERHEAD, N.Y. — A suspected child rapist from Guatemala who could have been released without bail under New York law was instead sent to Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody in a move that skirted the state's sanctuary policies while keeping him off the streets for months before prosecutors secured an indictment, according to the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office.

"Two progressive reforms...had to be navigated deftly to hold the defendant responsible for his alleged horrific crimes," District Attorney Ray Tierney said in a statement.

Due to the state's controversial policies, prosecutors weren't even allowed to ask the judge to set cash bail or bond on the initial charge of endangering the welfare of a child, according to the DA's office.

And because of the state's 2020 "Protect Our Courts Act," ICE agents could be subject to prosecution if they arrested the suspect at the courthouse following his no-bail release.

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"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.

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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.

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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.

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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."

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"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.

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"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.