HMG COMMUNITY JUSTICE WIRE!
A former Norwalk pastor convicted of sexually assaulting a congregant was sentenced yesterday to six years in state prison, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office announced. Jorge Castro, 55, pleaded no contest to a felony count of sexual penetration by foreign object.
At the sentencing, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Larry Knupp also ordered the defendant to register as a sex offender for life.
Deputy District Attorney Heba Matta, who prosecuted the case, said Castro was a pastor at Las Buenas Nuevas Church in Norwalk.
In April of 2010, one of the church’s female congregants went to Castro for spiritual counseling, the prosecutor said. While praying for the woman, he sexually assaulted her.
Three years after the incident, Castro was arrested in connection with the crime.
The case was investigated by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.