An 82-year-old former Putnam County School District official was sentenced to mandatory life in prison this week after a jury needed just 30 minutes to convict him of raping a child younger than 12. Gilberto Del Castillo-Espana was found guilty as charged of sexual battery on a person less than 12 years of age following a three-day trial.
Del Castillo-Espana was arrested on Feb. 13, 2024, after the victim's parents contacted the Putnam County Sheriff's Office, according to the Palatka Daily News. Authorities reported that the victim said Del Castillo-Espana had threatened to kill the child's parents if the abuse was disclosed, and the paper reported that the victim's father was initially hesitant to reach out to law enforcement because of the family's immigration status.
Del Castillo-Espana had deep ties to local schools. He began working with the Putnam County School District in 1998 and became its ESOL program coordinator in 2002, a role he held until 2015, per the same account. As reported by actionnewsjax.com, the Putnam County Sheriff's Office investigated the case, and Assistant State Attorneys Deborah Rothenberg and Andy Rippeon prosecuted it for the state.
Jury Moves Fast After Three-Day Trial
The case was heard in Florida's 7th Judicial Circuit, which covers Flagler, Putnam and St. Johns counties, according to the State Attorney, Florida's 7th Circuit. Judge Alicia Washington heard the case and imposed the sentence, and jurors deliberated only 30 minutes before returning the guilty verdict — a swift conclusion to a trial that stretched across three days.
Under Florida law, sexual battery committed by an adult against a person younger than 12 is classified as a capital felony punishable by death or life imprisonment, according to the Florida Legislature. Del Castillo-Espana was sentenced to mandatory life in prison immediately after the verdict, the Jacksonville station reported.
Officials React to the Verdict
State Attorney R.J. Larizza said child survivors of rape carry uniquely personal and profound consequences from past abuse, and he said he wished he could erase survivors' trauma but could at least hold perpetrators accountable. Larizza also asked the public to keep survivors of sexual assault in their thoughts and prayers.
Putnam County Sheriff Gator DeLoach, meanwhile, condemned the former school official in blunt terms. “This vile individual used his position of trust to silence victims through grooming, intimidation and bullying,” DeLoach said, as reported by the Palatka Daily News.
