Florida Man Pleads Guilty in Sex Assault on 13-Year-Old Girl in OC

Florida Man Pleads Guilty in Sex Assault on 13-Year-Old Girl in OC

by Contributing Editor

A 43-year-old Florida man pleaded guilty Monday and was sentenced to three years in prison for attempting to have sex with a 13-year-old Orange County girl he met online,

Dwight Nicholas Castaldi of Palm Gardens, Florida, pleaded guilty at the West Justice Center in Westminster to two counts of lewd or lascivious acts with a minor younger than 14. As part of the plea deal, two counts of lewd acts with a minor younger than 14 and a count of luring a child to commit a sex crime were dropped, according to court records.

Castaldi, who was given credit for 569 days in custody, was also ordered to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.

In December, two other co-defendants pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting the girl in Huntington Beach with both also sentenced to three years in prison.

Bradley Thomas Williams, 35, of Dana Point, pleaded guilty to two counts of lewd acts with a minor younger than 14 and single counts each of luring a child with the intent to commit a specified crime and meeting a minor to commit lewd conduct, all felonies.

Christian Reid Palmer, 28, of Sacramento, pleaded guilty to seven counts of lewd acts with a minor younger than 14 and single counts each of luring a child with the intent to commit a sex offense and meeting a minor to commit lewd conduct, all felonies. He was immediately sentenced to three years to prison.

Williams admitted that he met the girl online in 2015, arranged to meet her and they engaged in sex acts, according to court records.

Palmer admitted that he met the girl in December 2015, at first through video chats in which he directed the victim to touch herself and then in person when they had sex, according to court records.

Both accepted plea deals from Orange County Superior Court Judge Robert Fitzgerald.

Co-defendant Sohrab Anaraki, 34, of Topanga, is next due in court Aug. 22 for a pretrial hearing in the West Justice Center in Westminster.

The four defendants do not know each other, but also met the 13-year-old victim online, according to the Orange County District Attorney’s Office.

Castaldi and Anaraki are not suspected of having personal sexual relations with the teen, prosecutors said.

Anaraki is charged with one count each of luring a child with the intent to commit a sex crime and meeting a minor to commit lewd conduct, and six counts of lewd acts with a minor younger than 14, all felonies.

The girl was assaulted in Huntington Beach and Fountain Valley, prosecutors said.

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Originally published on https://mynewsla.com