KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Justin Rey, who was found in a storage unit with his two children and the dismembered remains of his wife in 2017, was sentenced Friday to 104 months in prison on charges of child misconduct and endangerment.
Rey will get credit for the 20 months he has already spent in jail, meaning he will serve another 84 months, or seven years. He also could get 15 percent of his sentence reduced for good time.
As part of his sentence, Rey also will be required to register as a sex offender for life.
In January, Rey was convicted of child endangerment, child misconduct and sexual exploitation of a child in Johnson County. His sentencing had twice been delayed due to dozens of motions he filed following his conviction, which were all denied. His court hearings also have been marked by repeated outbursts.
Rey interrupted his own hearing yet again on Friday when Judge Brenda Cameron began to sentence him. He was removed from the courtroom and listened to his sentencing by video in a separate room.
In a recess. Judge was just starting to sentence Rey, but he had another outburst, yelling. Judge removed Rey. He will listen to his sentencing via video in separate room. On his way out said something to effect of, “...All because I dismembered a body.” @41actionnews
— Sarah Plake (@SarahPlakeTV) June 28, 2019
Before the outburst, the judge heard testimony from Rey’s previous attorney, Scott Toth, who argued Rey’s case during his trial. Rey had filed a motion arguing that Toth was ineffective and said Toth did not call witnesses who would have testified that he was a good parent.
Toth told the judge that allowing those people to testify about his character would have opened the door for the state to bring up other information, including background checks and YouTube videos posted by Rey, that would have been detrimental to his case.
In October 2017, Rey was found staying in a U-Haul storage unit in Lenexa with his toddler and newborn, along with the dismembered remains of his wife, Jessica Monteiro Rey, in two coolers.
The sexual exploitation charges against Rey stemmed from a search of his phone, where investigators found sexually explicit photos of teenagers. The charges did not involve his own children.
Rey still faces a charge of abandoning a corpse in Jackson County, Missouri, where he has said he dismembered his wife. Separately, he also faces a murder charge in Palm Springs, California.
This is a breaking news story and will be updated.
