Middle River Man Sentenced in Child Sexual Abuse Case; Brothers Also Face Charges

A Middle River man accused of sexually abusing children was sentenced to seven years in prison Friday.

Jarod Joseph Reckley, 26, entered an Alford plea to one count of sexual abuse of a minor in Baltimore County Circuit Court.

Reckley was initially indicted on multiple charges of sexual abuse of two children, one boy and one girl, starting when they were about six or seven years old. The abuse took place in Reckley’s home on the 13000 block of Eastern Avenue over the course of several years. 

An Alford plea is treated as a guilty plea, but the defendant does not admit guilt and instead acknowledges that prosecutors have enough evidence to likely secure a conviction.

“I would like to apologize to the victims on behalf of my mental health issues for traumatizing them,” Reckley said just before sentencing. “I would like to hopefully just pray that this all goes away. I’m trying to just be there for my mother who will probably be very ill in the future. Hopefully just try to move on with my life.”

Judge Wendy Epstein said she had concerns that Reckley was not taking responsibility for his actions, citing a report where he denied committing the abuse and said others were lying or coaching them to lie.

“This is not going to go away for the victims,” Epstein said. “They are going to live with this the rest of their lives and unfortunately nothing that I do here today can help that.”

The child victims both offered emotional impact statements at Friday’s hearing, describing the ongoing painful effects of the abuse on their lives. 

Reckley is the brother of Michael Reckley, 28, who pleaded guilty earlier this month to possession of child pornography and aggravated animal cruelty involving sex acts with the family’s dogs. A third brother, Nicholas Reckley, 26, is also currently charged with distribution and promotion of child pornography and five counts of possession of child pornography, according to court records. His trial is set for May 5. 

“There is no family support in the sense that they don’t recognize that there is a problem going on in that household,” Assistant State’s Attorney Michael DeStefano said. “Three of the six brothers are in the criminal justice system for some type of sexual abuse.”

DeStefano also referenced two other victims who reported being sexually abused by Reckley but were not part of the indictment.

Defense attorney Joseph Murtha said he originally planned to ask the judge to sentence his client to time served but altered his request to five years’ incarceration, which is at the low end of the sentencing guidelines for someone with no prior criminal history.

“He needs the assistance of mental health care,” Murtha said, citing an eating disorder, anxiety, and a past suicide attempt. Murtha said Reckley shows traits of being on the autism spectrum.

Reckley has been jailed at the Baltimore County detention center for nearly two years and showed some improvement after being moved to the jail’s mental health unit, Murtha said.

“None of these are excuses but in many ways what we have is an individual who has struggled since he was a very young man,” Murtha said.

DeStefano said a pre-sentencing investigation reported that Reckley never had a job, doesn’t drive, has no friends, and has never dated. He isolates by playing video games all day and cannot function outside of the home, DeStefano quoted the report as saying.

Reckley’s mother reported that he lives “in a fantasy world.”

“I don’t say this to shame him,” DeStefano said. “I say this to paint a picture that there is no family support. It sounds like the family is there to support him…but that family is not a good source of support.” 

DeStefano noted that a brother who testified in court on Reckley's behalf in January is himself currently charged with a sex offense.

Epstein sentenced Reckley to 25 years in prison and suspended all but seven years. Reckley will be on supervised probation for five years after his release and must register as a sex offender for the rest of his life. He also must complete a sex offender treatment program and will not be allowed to have any contact with minors. 

“I have absolutely no doubt in my mind about his mental health issues,” Epstein said. “His diagnoses coupled with this self-isolation and without the family support were all a recipe for disaster. And while he hopes it just all goes away, I am very positive that for the victims this is not going to go away.”