Stepfather Pleads Guilty to Sexual Assault of Stepdaughter
August 16, 2024
Alfredo Reyes, 41, pled guilty on Monday, Aug. 12, 2024, to Criminal Sexual Conduct with a Minor Second Degree for sexually assaulting his stepdaughter. The Honorable Martha Rivers sentenced Reyes to 20 years suspended upon the service of 12 years in the South Carolina Department of Corrections.
After marrying the victim’s mother and becoming the stepfather to her three children, Reyes moved to South Carolina from Puerto Rico in 2012. During the summer of 2021, the female victim, who is the oldest of the three children, visited her biological father and his family in Puerto Rico. While there, the defendant would call and text the victim, who was 16 years old at the time. Her family noticed that whenever the defendant called or texted, she wouldn’t answer and would become extremely uncomfortable. When asked by a family member if she was okay, the victim disclosed that the defendant had been sexually assaulting her since they moved to South Carolina.
Her family in Puerto Rico arranged for the victim, her siblings, and her mother to move to Connecticut with other family members for their safety. Once in Connecticut, the victim’s mother contacted the Columbia Police Department (CPD), to whom she disclosed the history of the sexual abuse that she had suffered at the hands of the defendant.
The CPD arrested Reyes on Oct. 12, 2021. He initially denied having an inappropriate relationship with the victim but later admitted to the assault in a second statement wherein he blamed the victim for what had occurred between them.
The defendant was scheduled to stand trial for his crimes during the week of Aug. 12, 2024, but entered a guilty plea instead just before the beginning of the case. The defendant has been placed on the South Carolina Sex Offender Registry in addition to serving his prison sentence. The Fifth Judicial Circuit Solicitor’s Office, represented by Assistant Solicitors Kathryn Cavanaugh and Grayson Hill, prosecuted the case.