NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!. 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.. IGNORED ICE DETAINERS ‘PUT LIVES AT RISK,’ DHS SAYS, TARGETING NEWSOM, PRITZKER, HEALEY. “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.. FOLLOW THE FOX TRUE CRIME TEAM ON X. 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.. SIGN UP TO GET TRUE CRIME NEWSLETTER. 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.. SEND US A TIP HERE. 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.”. LISTEN TO THE NEW ‘CRIME & JUSTICE WITH DONNA ROTUNNO’ PODCAST. “Had there not been coordination in this case, this depraved criminal — who b
