Wonder Lake woman pleads guilty to drugging, allowing man to sexual assault child; gets 25 years in prison

A Wonder Lake woman pleaded guilty Thursday to allegations she allowed a man to sexually assault a child, whom the pair also drugged, and was sentenced to 25 years in prison.

Jessica Lee Speciale, 36, pleaded guilty to one count of predatory criminal sexual assault of a child younger than 13 years, a Class X felony, and criminal sexual assault, a Class 1 felony, Assistant McHenry County State’s Attorney Elizabeth Vonau said.

Speciale was sentence to 15 years on the Class X felony and 10 years on the Class 1 felony, to be served consecutively. She is required to serve 85% of the jail time and will get credit for 509 days in the county jail. When released, she will serve mandatory supervised release for three years to life. Speciale also will be a registered sex offender for life, the prosecutor said.

Jason Lee Reinhard, 39, also was charged in the case. In January, he pleaded guilty to the same charges and also was sentenced to 25 years in prison, court records show.

In exchange for their guilty pleas additional counts of the same charges, as well as exploitation and sexual exploitation of a child, were dismissed, records show.

The couple were accused of committing the offenses from 2019 to 2021, according to a news release from the Woodstock Police. Authorities were alerted to the allegations by the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, leading to the pair’s charges and arrests in 2023.

The victim gave a statement in court Thursday and asked Judge Mark Gerhardt to put a permanent no-contact order on Speciale so Speciale can’t contact the victim when Speciale gets out of prison.

She told Speciale: “You are a horrible human being.”

Speciale made no statements in court.

The judge also dismissed a second case Thursday against Speciale in which she had been charged with possession of 5 to 15 grams of methamphetamine and obstructing identification, court records show.

Reinhard is in custody at the Shawnee Correctional Center in downstate Vienna.