San Diego, Calif., Dec 17, 2018 / 16:26 pm
A California priest was convicted Monday of sexually assaulting a seminarian. After his conviction, Fr. Juan Garcia Castillo will be listed on California's sex offender registry, and could face up to six months of incarceration.
During a week-long trial, the San Diego seminarian assaulted by Castillo testified that the priest approached him Feb. 4 in a restaurant bathroom and groped his genitals twice.
The assault followed a night in which Castillo took two seminarians to a bar and restaurant after an event at St. Patrick's Parish in Carlsbad, where the priest served as parochial vicar. The seminarian said they had several drinks, and that Castillo encouraged him to drink to excess.
The seminarian testified that he went to the bathroom sick after midnight, and that Castillo approach him from behind and groped him.