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61-year-old accused of molesting minor pleads not guilty
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Posted on Jun 30 2021
Edmund Altares Castaneda, 61, is escorted by a Department of Corrections officer to a hearing at the Guma Hustisia. (KIMBERLY B. ESMORES)
A 61-year-old man accused of molesting a 12-year-old boy for many years pleaded not guilty at the Superior Court last Monday.
Edmund Altares Castaneda, 61, pleaded not guilty before Superior Court Presiding Judge Roberto Naraja to the charges of sexual abuse of a minor in the first, second, and third degrees.
Castaneda, who remains in the custody of the Department of Corrections pending the search for a suitable third-party custodian for him, waived the reading of his rights and was ordered to return to court for a status conference.
According to Saipan Tribune archives, Superior Court Associate Judge Joseph Camacho denied Castaneda’s request for temporary release last week because his wife was found unsuitable to take up the role as his third-party custodian.
Third-party custodians, Camacho said, serve as the court’s eyes and ears while a criminal case is ongoing. Camacho added that the court will revisit the request for bail modification once a suitable third-party custodian is identified for Castaneda.
Castaneda’s lawyer, Office of the Public Defender’s Karie Comstock, requested the court to allow Castaneda’s wife to post 1% of his initial $50,000 bail, or $500.
Court documents state that Castaneda was arrested last June 17 after the victim’s father called police upon learning about Castaneda’s alleged molestation. The child alleged that Castaneda started molesting him since he was 5 or 6 years old.
In a forensic interview with the Department of Youth Services, the victim said he was sleeping when Castaneda allegedly came inside his room and molested him, which he described to the DYS advocate in detail. The child said Castaneda had been doing things like this since he was 5 or 6.
Castaneda told police in an interview that he only “opened” the child’s pants as a joke and he’s always joking with him.
