By MES Dispatch Staff
The Briefing
- A Connecticut Superior Court judge found YouTube creator SeanPaul Reyes guilty Thursday of criminal trespassing for filming at the home of former state police Sgt. Bryan Fahey in July 2025.
- Judge Cody N. Guarnieri sentenced Reyes to a suspended three-month prison term and one year of probation, and issued standing criminal protective orders for each Fahey family member through 2099.
- The two-day trial centered on whether signage along Fahey’s driveway gave adequate notice that the property was private.
- Three Groton police officers testified that “Private road, no turn around” signs were posted, and a “no trespassing” sign was found lying in nearby brush.
- Reyes, who represented himself, said he intends to appeal.
GROTON, Conn. — A judge convicted self-described “First Amendment auditor” and YouTuber SeanPaul Reyes of criminal trespassing Thursday, ruling he had no license or privilege to enter the property of a former Connecticut State Police sergeant while filming a video last year.
Superior Court Judge Cody N. Guarnieri, who presided over the two-day trial last month in Danielson, sentenced Reyes to a suspended three-month prison term and one year of probation. He also issued standing criminal protective orders covering each member of former Sgt. Bryan Fahey’s family through 2099.
Reyes was accused of trespassing on Fahey’s property on July 11, 2025, while recording video for his YouTube channel. Criminal trespassing is a class C misdemeanor in Connecticut.
The trial focused on whether Fahey’s long driveway was adequately posted as private and whether Reyes had the right to walk up and knock on the door. Reyes testified that he saw a “Private Road: Dead end, no turn around” sign but understood it to apply to vehicles rather than pedestrians, and said he specifically looked for “no trespassing” or “do not enter” signage before proceeding, but did not see any. Windham State’s Attorney John F. Fahey, who is not related to Bryan Fahey, argued the “private road” sign alone was sufficient to put a reasonable person on notice that the property was not open to the public.
In his ruling, Guarnieri wrote that the “private road” sign “gives reasonable notice to the public that the property was not open to the public and may not be entered without a license or privilege to do so.” During the trial, three Town of Groton police officers testified that signs reading “Private road, no turn around” were posted along the driveway, and that a “no trespassing” sign was found lying in brush alongside the road.
Reyes, who represented himself and testified in his own defense, said he was acting in his capacity as a journalist and maintained he never saw a posted “no trespassing” sign as he approached the home. He said he had instructed his cameraman to look for such signage. Reyes said he intends to appeal the conviction.