Carlos Aguilar Reynoso, 27, was indicted Monday, March 23, after prosecutors say he sexually assaulted a 5-year-old girl while babysitting on Long Island. Authorities say investigators leaned on DNA evidence and an unusual custody move, handing the suspect to federal immigration agents after issuing a desk-appearance ticket, to keep him locked up while the investigation continued. He faces charges including predatory sexual assault of a child and first-degree rape and is being held without bail pending further proceedings.
According to Daily Voice, the Suffolk County District Attorney’s office says the alleged assault happened on Sunday, Feb. 1, when Aguilar Reynoso was left to babysit the child. The victim’s mother told investigators that her daughter said Aguilar Reynoso had "inserted his 'privates' into her," and doctors at a local hospital found internal bleeding that required specialized care, prosecutors said. Police arrested Aguilar Reynoso on Feb. 2 on a child-endangerment charge.
Police alerted Immigration and Customs Enforcement after that Feb. 2 arrest and, rather than holding a normal court appearance on the misdemeanor charge, issued a desk-appearance ticket that allowed them to release him from the local station directly into ICE custody on Feb. 2, prosecutors told reporters, per Daily Voice. Investigators later matched DNA taken from the victim to DNA collected from Aguilar Reynoso while he was in ICE custody on Feb. 13, and detectives say they stayed in touch with federal authorities to make sure he was not deported before felony charges could be filed. After more than a month of investigation, prosecutors upgraded the case to predatory sexual assault of a child, first-degree rape and first-degree sexual assault; he was arraigned, ordered held without bail and is due back in court on April 27.
How police used ICE to keep him detained
New York’s Protect Our Courts Act bars warrantless ICE arrests at courthouses and for people traveling to or from a scheduled court appearance. As the New York State Senate put it when the law was signed in December 2020, "The Protect Our Courts Act enshrines into law the ban on warrantless civil arrests for individuals going to, attending, or returning from court proceedings." Police officials said issuing a desk-appearance ticket in this case let them avoid the courthouse restriction and transfer Aguilar Reynoso to ICE outside the court system.
Legal implications
Immigrant-rights groups argue the law was meant to shield victims and witnesses from being scared away by civil immigration arrests, and they warn the tactic used here could undercut that goal. The Immigrant Defense Project, which helped drive the Protect Our Courts Act, documented how courthouse arrests had deterred people from participating in court and says state protections were designed to address that problem. Advocates say workarounds like the one used in this case merit renewed scrutiny.
What’s next
Aguilar Reynoso remains in custody without bail and is scheduled to appear in court on April 27. Prosecutors with the Suffolk County District Attorney’s office are moving forward with the indictment while investigators prepare evidence ahead of trial.
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