People v. Reyes

2026 IL App (1st) 252639
Appellate Court of Illinois·Decided March 27, 2026·No. 1-25-2639·Published

Opinion

2026 IL App (1st) 252639

No. 1-25-2639B

March 27, 2026

FIFTH DIVISION

IN THE

APPELLATE COURT OF ILLINOIS FIRST DISTRICT

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, ) Appeal from the Circuit Court ) of Cook County.

Plaintiff-Appellee, )

)

v. ) 25 CR 12904 )

JOEL REYES, ) The Honorable ) Ankur Srivastava, and Defendant-Appellant. ) Jennifer Coleman ) Judges, presiding.

JUSTICE ODEN JOHNSON delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion Presiding Justice Mitchell and Justice Mikva concur in the judgment and opinion.

OPINION

¶1 Defendant-appellant Joel Reyes, by and through private counsel, brings this appeal challenging (1) the trial court’s order, entered October 23, 2025, by Judge Ankur Srivastava, granting the State’s petition for pretrial detention, and (2) the trial court’s order, entered December 1, 2025, by Judge Jennifer Coleman, denying defendant’s subsequent motion for relief pursuant to Illinois Supreme Court Rule 604(h) (eff. Apr. 15, 2024). A “motion for relief” is “a prerequisite to appeal” (Ill. S. Ct. R. 604(h)(2) (eff. Apr. 15, 2024)), under what is

“commonly known as the Pretrial Fairness Act” 1 (People v. Morgan, 2025 IL 130626, ¶ 1). This type of motion asks the trial court to reconsider a prior denial of pretrial release. See Ill. S. Ct. R. 604(h)(2) (eff. Apr. 15, 2024).

¶2 Under case No. 25-CR-12904, defendant was indicted for multiple sexual assault and abuse counts of an underage victim, stemming from an incident on September 15, 2025, in the victim’s home. The counts are (1) criminal sexual assault (720 ILCS 5/11-1.20(a)(1) (West 2024)), for penetration of M.R.’s mouth by force or threat of force; (2) criminal sexual assault (720 ILCS 5/11-1.20(a)(1) (West 2024)) for penetration of M.R.’s vagina by force or threat of force; (3) criminal sexual assault (720 ILCS 5/11-1.20(a)(1) (West 2024)) for penetration of M.R.’s vagina by his finger by force or threat of force; (4) criminal sexual abuse (720 ILCS 5/11-1.50(a)(1) (West 2024)) by making contact with M.R.’s hand by his penis by force or use of force; and (5) criminal sexual abuse (720 ILCS 5/11-1.50(a)(1) (West 2024)) by making contact with M.R.’s body by his penis by force or use of force.

¶3 For the following reasons, we affirm the trial court’s order denying defendant’s motion for release and affirm the denial of pretrial release.

¶4 BACKGROUND

¶5 Defendant, who was 19 years old at the time of the offense, was arrested on October 20, 2025. On October 23, 2025, the State filed a petition for pretrial detention that alleged:

“D is 19 y/o. V is 17 y/o. D went to V’s house & on arrival, they went to the bsmt. & sat on a couch. D motioned toward his penis in an attempt to get V to touch him. V

1

In 2021, the General Assembly passed two separate acts that “dismantled and rebuilt Illinois’s statutory framework for the pretrial release of criminal defendants.” Rowe v. Raoul, 2023 IL 129248, ¶ 4 (discussing Pub. Acts 101-652, § 10-255, 102-1104, § 70 (eff. Jan. 1, 2023) (amending 725 ILCS 5/art. 110)).

repeatedly told D no. D asked for a hug, then got [b]ehind V, hugged her from behind, & proceeded [to] rub his penis on her body. V told D to stop. D then took his penis out of his pants and wanted V to put her mouth on it. V said no. D grabbed V’s head & pushed her head onto his penis. V closed her teeth on D’s penis to get him to stop. D then grabbed V, pushed her onto the couch, & pushed V’s face into the pillows. D held V down, used his other hand to pull V’s pants down & D’s penis penetrated V’s vagina.”

The State’s petition sought detention on the ground that defendant “poses a real and present threat to the safety of any person or persons in the community, based on the specific articulable facts of the case.”

¶6 A hearing on the State’s petition was held on October 23, 2025, and defendant was represented by private counsel. The hearing began with the State’s proffer. The assistant state’s attorney (ASA) stated that the 19-year-old defendant was six feet, three inches, tall and weighed 230 pounds, while the 17-year-old victim was five feet, five inches, tall and “of a much smaller statute [sic].”

¶7 The ASA stated that defendant, who was currently in college, met the victim in connection with a junior varsity baseball team, when they were both in high school. The victim had dated one of defendant’s friends. On the day in question, defendant reached out to the victim, but the victim was reluctant. After explaining to him that she was celibate, the victim allowed him to come to her house. After he arrived, they went down to the basement and sat on the couch. Defendant motioned toward his penis, in an attempt to get the victim to touch him. The victim had no interest, repeatedly told him no, and stood up. Defendant asked for a

hug, which she did. Defendant then hugged her from behind and rubbed against her, while she told him to stop.

¶8 The ASA stated that, when they sat back down on the couch, defendant removed his penis from his pants and wanted the victim to put her mouth on it, and she again told him no. Defendant then grabbed the victim’s head and pushed her head onto his penis. Defendant used both of his hands to move her head up and down on his penis. The victim closed her teeth around his penis to get him to stop. The victim then stood up and told defendant to leave but he did not. Instead, he grabbed her, pushed her onto the couch, pushed her face into the pillows, held her down with one hand by the back of her head, used his other hand to pull down her pants and penetrated the victim’s vagina. When he finished, he pulled up his pants and went upstairs.

¶9 The ASA stated that, during this incident, the victim’s 11-year-old sister entered the basement unbeknownst to any of the parties. When the sister was interviewed by the police, she said that she heard the victim asking defendant to leave, that the victim was trying to get the boy off of her, and that the boy would not stop. After the sister went back upstairs, she later saw defendant run out of the house. The sister then went back down to the basement and saw the victim crying hysterically. The victim told the sister to get their mother, which the sister did.

¶ 10 The ASA stated that the mother came down to the basement and the victim made an immediate outcry. Statements from both the mother and sister indicate that the victim was hysterical, and they took her to the hospital. After the incident, the victim missed several days of school, she was withdrawn, she would not let others touch her about the body, she started sleeping in her parents’ room, and she was having difficulty sleeping at night.

¶ 11 The ASA stated that defendant had no notable criminal background, either juvenile or adult. Although claiming the sexual acts were consensual, defendant admitted that he was at the house at that time. The ASA argued that defendant was a danger to both the victim and the community, given his violent acts in the victim’s home. Defendant knows where the victim lives and is able to contact her through social media. In addition, the ASA argued that defendant posed a threat to any young girl who he came into contact with.

¶ 12 The ASA argued that GPS and electronic home monitoring were insufficient, where they would require him to remain in a home, and in a home is where these events transpired. In addition, the ASA noted that defendant would have free movement for two days. As a college student, defendant had access to young women on a daily basis.

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People v. Reyes, 2026 IL App (1st) 252639 (Ill. Ct. App. 2026).

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