Prosecutor: Ogden sex offender is 'danger to the community' needs to be put back in jail

(KUTV) — The Weber County Attorney’s Office filed a motion Thursday morning asking a judge to order the arrest of a registered sex offender and that he be held in jail without bail due to the danger he poses to the community.

40-year-old Reynaldo Paredes bailed out of jail last weekend after he was arrested by Ogden Police for allegedly climbing onto his neighbor’s roof to masturbate outside of a young girl’s window, according to a police report.

This arrest was the third time Paredes has been arrested for a sex offense involving a child. The Ogden Police officer who arrested Paredes asked that he be held without bail due to him being a repeat offender, but Paredes was released from jail on $4,000 bail on the same day he was arrested.

In the motion filed Thursday, prosecutors are seeking for a judge to revoke Paredes’ bail on a previous sex offense case from last year.

“[Paredes] is incapable of refraining from such conduct while out on bail pending the resolution of this case. In addition, he poses a substantial danger to society, particularly to juvenile girls, and his custody status should be modified to no bail,” Weber County prosecutor Thomas Pedersen wrote in a motion for detention.

Court documents allege on May 28, a family found Paredes, their next-door neighbor, on their roof outside of their young daughter’s bedroom window. Police found a ladder leading to the roof questioned him about why he was up there.

“Police brought [Paredes] in for questioning and his story changed several times: from his initial explanation that he was never on the roof; to he was on the roof but was chasing away a raccoon; to he was on the roof to masturbate while watching homeowner’s wife; to ultimately admitting to standing outside of the juvenile daughter’s window with the intention of masturbating,” the motion for detention says.

Paredes was arrested last Fall in a similar case after he allegedly masturbated in the backyard of a home in the presence of a juvenile female, and engaging in bestiality.

In the motion for detention, prosecutors say the reason Paredes was released from jail on his new arrest was the state law regarding bail, which did not give a judge the option hold Paredes without bail on the new offenses.

“Because of the misdemeanor status of these new offenses, Judge Valencia who reviewed the probable cause statement submitted from the arresting officer was not permitted under the law to hold [Paredes] no bail despite the degree of danger [Paredes[ poses to the community based on the conduct,” the motion says.

The family that found Paredes on their roof told 2News they are furious he was released from jail after his arrest last weekend.

“I was just disgusted, mad, sad. We’re living in fear, we don’t know if he’s going to come back,” mother Jasmine Varble said.

Varble added she is relieved prosecutors are seeking to have Paredes arrested again, but says she is concerned what he has been doing since his release from jail last weekend.

“He’s gonna do this again, he’s done it multiple times. He is a dangerous man.” Varble said.

Branden Miles, Chief Deputy Attorney at the Weber County Attorney’s Office, told 2News that his office was extremely concerned that Paredes was let go from jail after his recent arrest.

“Very troubling that an individual like this who poses a public safety risk could come and post bail, particularly a sex offender committing a new sex offense,” Miles said.

Miles added that he plans to show this case to a legislative committee to demonstrate the need for judges to be able to hold someone without bail on a misdemeanor charge if police demonstrate that releasing the offender would be a danger to the community.

“The judge reviewing this case had no authority to hold him without bail on the misdemeanor case alone. Right now [judges] don’t have the tools legally and we have to play catch up on the back end,” Miles said.