A 21-year-old man has been convicted of molesting a 7-year-old child that his mother was babysitting, the Gwinnett County District Attorney’s Office said.
Marco Antonio Esparza-Castaneda has been convicted of aggravated child molestation. The jury deliberated for only 30 minutes before returning a guilty verdict, the district attorney’s office said.
In January 2015, the then 7-year-old victim told her mother that Esparza-Castaneda forced her to perform oral sex on him. The child was being babysat by Esparza-Castaneda’s mother at the time. Esparza-Castaneda lived with his mother and other family members across the street from the victim and her family. Esparza-Castaneda was 18 at the time of the incident.
Gwinnett County Special Victims Unit Det. Brian Dorminy told the jury that the child’s behavior and interview were consistent with being a victim of child sexual assault.
Esparza-Castaneda was sentenced to 25 years in prison and life on probation. He must also register as a sex offender upon release from prison.
