On Friday, Prince William County police arrested Ronnie Reel, 39, at a Woodbridge apartment after finding him with a 17-year-old girl from Fredericksburg who had been reported missing earlier last week.
Reel was already known to Fairfax. In 2021, he confessed to sexually abusing an 11-year-old boy. The Department of Justice Civil Rights Division opened a probe of Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano three weeks ago, covering exactly the kind of plea-bargaining decisions that put Reel back on the street.
Reel was indicted on forcible sodomy of a child and aggravated sexual battery of a child. Forcible sodomy of a child carries a mandatory minimum life sentence under Virginia law.
The evidence was overwhelming. Reel confessed to police. The victim’s mother also recorded an 18-minute phone call in which Reel admitted the abuse in detail.
Descano’s office missed the discovery deadlines by four months. A judge ruled the confession, the recorded phone call, and key witnesses inadmissible. The case collapsed.
Days before trial, Descano’s office offered Reel a plea deal. The forcible sodomy charge was dismissed. The aggravated sexual battery charge was amended to misdemeanor assault and battery. Reel pleaded to the misdemeanor and was sentenced to time served. He was not required to register as a sex offender.
Fairfax County Chief Judge Penney Azcarate did not bury what happened. From the bench, she said the deadlines were “woefully, woefully missed” and that the case “was not taken as much responsibility as it should have been.”
She went further. “It’s very concerning to the Court — and unfortunately, this is not the first time I’ve had this motion in the past few months. So, I’m just — it’s very frustrating to the Court.”
Not the first time. A sitting Fairfax circuit judge said that on the record, about Descano’s office, in the past few months.
The 11-year-old’s mother, Amber, spoke to 7News on Friday. She has been on the record for years about what Descano’s office did to her son’s case.
“My child was 11 years old at the time that he was raped and molested by my brother-in-law. With one simple mistake of failing to file paperwork, he was let go.”
On May 6, the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division opened a civil-rights probe of Descano’s office. Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon authorized the investigation under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, the Safe Streets Act, and 34 U.S.C. § 12601.
The probe covers plea bargaining, charging decisions, and sentencing policies. The Reel case is exactly the kind of decision the probe will examine. Dhillon: “Under my leadership, the Civil Rights Division will not allow local prosecutors to pick and choose winners.”
Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares referred Descano to the DOJ in writing. His 17-case-study report documented victim’s-rights violations, Brady and discovery failures, improper plea agreements, and prosecutorial incompetence. The Reel case is one of the seventeen.
Governor Abigail Spanberger has spoken at length about her May 20 executive order restricting federal immigration officers on Virginia state property.
She has not spoken about the federal civil-rights probe of the Fairfax Commonwealth’s Attorney whose plea deal sent Ronnie Reel home. She has not spoken about Friday’s arrest. She has not spoken about Amber’s son.
The 17-year-old girl Prince William police found with Reel is home. Reel remains jailed on the abduction charge after his bond motion was withdrawn.
Stephanie Minter is still dead. The DOJ probe of Steve Descano’s office is still open. Steve Descano is on the Fairfax County ballot on November 2, 2027.
Until then, the federal civil-rights probe and the voters who put Descano there are the only checks on his office.