Video of Mundelein sex assault played in Reyes trial
Jose Reyes' eyes slowly rose to view the large-screen television on the back wall of the Lake County courtroom showing a three-year-old video authorities say was obtained from his cellphone.
Reyes briefly watched the images but turned away before the painful screams of a 3-year-old girl pierced the speaker.
Day four of Reyes' trial in the Sept. 30, 2013, kidnapping and sexual assault of the child outside a Mundelein apartment complex included experts who testified about two videos and several pictures of the attack that police say they found on Reyes' cellphone.
Assistant State's Attorney Eric Kalata had to play the videos and show the photos during the bench trial in order to enter the images into evidence. Judge Mark Levitt allowed the evidence over the objections of defense attorneys Eric Rinehart and Katharine Hatch.
Police say they found the cellphone and graphic four-minute video in Reyes' car after his arrest nearly five days after authorities say he kidnapped the girl while she played with her 9-year-old sister outside the Deepwoods apartment complex.
Authorities said Reyes, 31, of Chicago, approached the girls about 5 p.m. near the entrance of the complex on the 500 block of Deepwoods Drive.
He initially offered them a lollipop, but it was refused, authorities said. He left and drove around the apartment complex but returned and stopped the car near the girls. Reyes got out of the vehicle, grabbed the younger child, buckled her in the front seat, and drove off while her sister screamed for help, authorities said.
The 3-year-old was molested in the car by Reyes, authorities said, then dropped off in a nearby parking lot about a half-hour later. A woman heard the girl crying and walked her to police, who reunited her with her parents, authorities said. She was taken to a hospital where she was tested.
Prosecutors said during the weeklong trial that a mountain of evidence exists against Reyes, including the cellphone video and pictures, video surveillance showing the girl being dropped off in the parking lot, DNA tests, eyewitness statements, GPS routes stored in the vehicle, and the discovery of the same candy in the car used in the attempt to lure the girls, authorities said.
Reyes faces up to 150 years in prison if found guilty of aggravated kidnapping, kidnapping, predatory criminal sexual assault, production of child pornography, and possession of child pornography in the case. He's held in Lake County jail in lieu of $5 million bail.