Retired Putnam County Teacher and Former School District Official Convicted of Sexual Battery on Child Under 12, Sentenced to Life

A Putnam County jury has convicted Gilberto Del Castillo-Espana, a retired teacher who spent 13 years as the Putnam County School District's coordinator for English-learner programs, of sexual battery on a child under 12, and a judge immediately sentenced him to the mandatory term of life in prison, the State Attorney's Office for Florida's 7th Judicial Circuit announced on Friday, Oct. 23.

Jurors in Palatka deliberated for about 30 minutes after a three-day trial before returning the guilty verdict, according to the State Attorney's Office and the Putnam County Sheriff's Office. Del Castillo-Espana, who is in his 80s, was arrested in February 2024 at his home in Georgetown, in the southern part of the county.

Sheriff's officials said he used his reputation as a helper to migrant families to gain access to the child and to keep the family quiet. The Florida Press does not identify victims of sexual crimes.

The verdict and sentence

Del Castillo-Espana was found guilty of sexual battery on a person less than 12 years of age, a capital felony under Florida law. A conviction for that offense by an adult carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole, which is why the sentence was imposed as soon as the verdict was read, according to Action News Jax.

Assistant State Attorneys Deborah Rothenberg and Andy Rippeon prosecuted the case. The Putnam County Sheriff's Office conducted the investigation.

At the time of his arrest, Del Castillo-Espana also faced a charge of resisting an officer without violence after deputies said he resisted when they came to his home with a warrant; the encounter was captured on body camera video, News4JAX reported in 2024.

A trusted figure in South Putnam

Del Castillo-Espana worked for the Putnam County School District and served as its ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) coordinator from 2002 to 2015, when he retired. The sheriff's office said the role allowed him to work with sensitive populations. Investigators said in 2024 that although he did not teach children directly in a classroom in that job, he had access to migrant children and children born in Putnam County to immigrant families.

When he was arrested, the sheriff's office said the case "caused shockwaves" in South Putnam, where he had been regarded as a "pillar" of the community.

The school district said at the time that he had not worked for the district since he retired in 2015 and that it would share any information investigators needed. The district said its top priority was the safety of its students.

How the case came to light

According to the sheriff's office, the child's parents first contacted deputies in May 2023. They had noticed changes in the child's behavior, including withdrawal and nightmares, after time spent with Del Castillo-Espana, who had befriended the family long before the child was born.

Deputies said the parents were initially afraid to report their suspicions because they feared deportation. A faith leader encouraged them to go to law enforcement, Col. Joe Wells of the sheriff's office told News4JAX in 2024.

The investigation began as a case of suspected physical abuse. Wells said there were no physical marks and that it took a long time for detectives and child protection workers to confirm that the child had been sexually abused. The child told investigators that Del Castillo-Espana threatened to kill the child's parents if the child told them what was happening, according to the sheriff's office.

After the arrest, detectives said they suspected there could be other victims whose families might also be afraid to come forward, and the sheriff's office distributed information in both English and Spanish asking anyone with information to call. Wells said at the time that deputies do not ask about immigration status when someone reports a crime and that a photo ID is not needed to file a report.

What the sheriff and the State Attorney said

Sheriff H.D. "Gator" DeLoach said Del Castillo-Espana targeted children of the migrant worker families he was supposedly helping.

"This vile individual used his position of trust to silence victims through grooming, intimidation and bullying," DeLoach said. "He was considered a beloved figure because he had manipulated communities to believe he was helping our migrant families."

DeLoach said the trust the community placed in Del Castillo-Espana "bought silence," and added that he would "live out his twilight years in a cage." He thanked State Attorney R.J. Larizza and his staff for securing both the verdict and a sentence ensuring Del Castillo-Espana can never harm another child.

Larizza said the consequences of abuse follow child survivors long after it ends. "I wish we could erase the trauma from their consciousness, but the best we can do is hold the perpetrators accountable," he said, asking the public to keep survivors of sexual assault in their thoughts and prayers.

Florida's law on child sexual battery

Sexual battery on a child younger than 12 by an adult has long carried a mandatory life sentence in Florida. In 2023, the Legislature passed a law allowing prosecutors to seek the death penalty in such cases, and News4JAX reported at the time of Del Castillo-Espana's arrest that the charge made him eligible for a death sentence if convicted. The sentence he received was life in prison; reports on the verdict did not say whether prosecutors had considered seeking death.

The Northeast Florida case is also a reminder of a concern law enforcement agencies across the state have raised: that immigrant families who fear contact with authorities may not report crimes against their children. The Putnam County Sheriff's Office explicitly told families in 2024 that their status would not be a barrier to reporting.

What's next

Del Castillo-Espana is expected to be transferred from the Putnam County Jail to the custody of the Florida Department of Corrections to serve his life sentence. Under Florida's appellate rules, he has 30 days from sentencing to file a notice of appeal with the state appellate court that covers Putnam County. It was not immediately clear whether his attorneys intend to appeal.

The sheriff's office has asked anyone with information about possible additional victims to call 386-329-0800. Anyone who suspects a child is being abused can also contact the Florida Abuse Hotline at 1-800-962-2873.