A local man who prosecutors say extended his child porn fixation into sexual assault of a little girl is going to prison for a long time, News Radio 1200 WOAI reports.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Tracy Thompson says John Castro was caught by the feds with a 'huge collection' of child porn on his home computer.
"He admitted beginning to look at child pornography as long ago as 2005," she said. "And a few years after that, he sexually assaulted a young woman."
A federal judge openly laughed at Castro's claim that 'cocaine made him do it,' trying to cite his 'cocaine addiction' to get a lesser sentence.
"That did not cause a sexual interest in children," Thompson said. "That may have caused a lot of other problems for him, but he already had a sexual interest in children."
Castro was sentenced to more than 16 years in federal prison.