A Marshall man who allegedly sexually assaulted a juvenile and has been charged with a felony entered a plea during a court proceeding this week.
According to a probable-cause statement, the juvenile’s mother contacted the Marshall Police Department after going through explicit text messages on her daughter’s phone in late July.
Online court documents say 27-year-old Fares Ismael Castillo-Mejia has been charged with a Class E Felony for Child Molestation in the Fourth Degree with a Child Less Than 17 Years Old and the Offender Greater Than Four Years Older. Bond was set at $10,000 cash only. The court denied a second request for bond reduction made by Castillo-Mejia’s attorney on September 5.
On October 1, Castillo-Mejia appeared in custody and waived his preliminary hearing, and the case was bound over to Division 4 of Circuit Court.
Castillo-Mejia appeared in custody and pleaded not guilty during his arraignment hearing on Tuesday, November 13, and his cause has been continued for a plea/trial-setting hearing at 9 a.m. on Monday, December 10, at Saline County Circuit Court.