Agencies Partner To Apprehend Suspect Before Fleeing To Casablanca

Agencies Partner To Apprehend Suspect Before Fleeing To Casablanca
File photo by Chris Parypa

OCEAN CITY — A Delaware guidance counselor is being held without bond this week after allegedly sexually assaulting a minor teenage boy in his care in Ocean City last month before almost fleeing the country to Casablanca.

On Dec. 2, an Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) detective was contacted by Delaware State Police (DSP) regarding an investigation into a sexual assault case involving a teenage boy that allegedly occurred in an Ocean City condominium late last month. The DSP detective informed the OCPD detective the suspect had been identified as Allen Harold Reese, 64, of Millsboro, Del.

According to the DSP detective’s investigation, Reese works for Delaware Guidance Services and provides mobile counseling services and takes at-risk children with him to movies and other events as part of his counseling services. On Nov. 26, Reese allegedly picked up the victim in Lewes, Del. around 1:30 p.m.

According to police reports, Reese drove the victim to a townhouse near 120th Street in Ocean City where sexual acts took place. The police report includes graphic descriptions of the alleged sexual assault of the 15-year-old male victim.

According to police reports, a similar sexual assault occurred the next day on Nov. 27 when Reese allegedly assaulted the victim in a vehicle.

The OCPD detective ran a check through Ocean City’s license plate reader (LPR) systems at the entrances and exits to the resort and determined Reese’s vehicle came across the Route 90 bridge on Nov. 26, the date of the first alleged assault, at 2:32 p.m. and traveled north passed the LPR at 140th Street at 5:30 p.m. Those entry and exit times are consistent with the victim’s version and timeline of the first assault.

In addition, a similar check on a vehicle belonging to Delaware Guidance Services and frequently used by Reese revealed the vehicle entered Ocean City via Route 90 at 5:11 p.m. on Nov. 25, the day before the first alleged assault, and traveled past the north-end LPR at 5:46 p.m. on the same day.

During the investigation, the victim was in the custody and care of Delaware Social Services and the OCPD detective arranged to have a social worker bring the victim to OCPD headquarters on 65th Street for an interview. The victim was delivered for the interview at the appointed time and place and traveled with the detective to the area behind the convenience store at 120th Street in an attempt to determine where the alleged first assault occurred. According to police reports, the victim positively identified the Club Ocean Villas II condominiums as the site of the alleged sexual assault, but because the complex is large and the buildings all look relatively the same, the victim could not identify the specific unit.

The victim reportedly told the OCPD detective he had communicated with Reese via text in the past, which is how the OCPD detective determined his phone number. According to police reports, the OCPD detective made multiple attempts to contact Reese to no avail, instead getting a voice mail recording that positively identified Reese.

Meanwhile, the DSP detective attempted to set up an interview with Reese, but was reportedly told he would not be interviewed without his attorney. The OCPD detective feared Reese would attempt to flee the area. The OCPD detective asked a task force officer with Homeland Security to check to see if Reese had scheduled any international flights. As of Dec. 6, Reese had not booked any flights, according to police reports.

On Dec. 10, the DSP detective had arranged to meet with Reese and his attorney to serve him with a DNA warrant. Reese did appear for that meeting without his attorney, during which buccal swabs for DNA were obtained. That meeting occurred around 9:30 a.m. on Dec. 10 at the DSP barrack in Georgetown, Del.

According to police reports, at 11 a.m. on Dec. 10, the Homeland Security task force officer contacted the OCPD detective and informed him he had just received notification Reese had scheduled an international flight from JFK airport in New York. The flight was scheduled to leave on Dec. 11 at 8:20 p.m. and was bound for Casablanca, Morocco. The Homeland Security task force officer did not find a return flight booked in Reese’s name, according to police reports.

The OCPD detective then contacted Ocean City Communications and requested a 48-hour temporary warrant for Reese to be entered into the NCIC system and Reese was located and taken into custody before fleeing the country. He was returned to Worcester County where he has been charged with sexual abuse of a minor, third-degree sex offense and perverted practice.

Reese had a bail review hearing in Worcester on Dec. 12 and was ordered to be held without bond. A preliminary hearing has been set for Jan. 10.