TOOELE, Utah, Aug. 9, 2020 (Gephardt Daily) — A Tooele man has been arrested after he arranged a meeting with an undercover officer posing as a 13-year-old girl.
A probable cause statement from the 3rd District Court of Tooele County said Marcelino Castillo, 35, is facing charges of:
- Entice a minor by internet or text, a second-degree felony
- Two counts of failure to register as a sex offender, a third-degree felony
Starting on June 7, Castillo exchanged digital messages through an Internet application with a person he believed to be a 13-year-old girl, but was actually an undercover officer.
“Marcelino acknowledged the age of the child persona several times and even spoke about possibly getting into trouble, going to jail, that the 13-year-old child persona may be a sting/cop,” the statement said.
The conversation turned sexual in nature, the statement said.
“Marcelino then proceeded to coordinate meeting the 13-year-old female at a specific location Thursday,” the statement said. “A specific location was provided to Marcelino. He then drove to that location and told the 13-year-old that he had arrived and was parked waiting for her. Marcelino provided the description of a nearby unoccupied vehicle and lied that it was the vehicle he was there in. Marcelino was located nearby in a different vehicle.”
During a search of his vehicle investigators found condoms and his cell phone, the statement said. When investigators sent a followup message to Castillos’s cell phone it popped up showing a message had been received from the specific social media platform involved in this case. Investigators further confirmed his identity by matching a photograph he had sent during the chat to his Utah driver license photograph, which appeared to show the same person.
After being read his Miranda rights, Castillo chose not to speak with investigators.
The suspect was also found to be an actively registered sex offender in the state of Utah; he is on the sex offender registry for a previous felony conviction for unlawful sexual conduct with a 16 to 17-year-old.
Castillo is also currently on felony parole with the Adult Probation & Parole for lewdness and distributing illicit narcotics.
He was transported to Tooele County Jail, where he is being held without bail.
