Second trial scheduled for man charged with sex offenses with children

Caleb M. Soptelean, The Sanford Herald, N.C.
·1 min read

May 18—A Sanford man charged with multiple sex offenses with children recently had a second trial scheduled.

Paulino Castellanos, 57, was found guilty of attempted statutory rape of a child, statutory sex offense with a child and two counts of indecent liberties with a child following a trial on June 30, but it was declared a mistrial by Superior Court Judge C. Winston Gilchrist on July 5.

The reason for the mistrial was not included in court documents.

Court documents reveal that there were two victims in the case. According to an arrest warrant, the crime(s) occurred on July 6, 2011.

On April 29, a new trial was scheduled for Nov. 4.

Castellanos was originally arrested in 2017, according to a previous Sanford Herald report. He was arrested again on Feb. 10, 2023, on additional charges. The case was continued more than 20 times.

On Sept. 28, defense attorney Nicholle T. Phair's motion to seal records related to the mistrial were denied, along with her motion to have electronic monitoring removed.

However on April 29, Phair's motion to have a "house arrest monitor" removed was approved for medical reasons.

Following his arrest on Feb. 10, 2023, Castellanos was held in jail until he was approved for release with electronic monitoring on Feb. 23 that year.