Superior Court Judge David A. Wiseman earlier found probable cause to believe that Castillo may have committed the offenses as charged.
The Attorney General’s Office charged Castillo with eight counts of sexual abuse of a minor in the second degree, and eight counts of assault and battery.
Castillo, currently being held on a $50,000 cash bail, appeared in court for his arraignment before Presiding Judge Robert C. Naraja yesterday.
Assistant Attorney General Tiberius Mocanu represented the government in the preliminary hearing last week while Assistant Public Defender Benjamin Petersburg served as Castillo’s counsel.
The prosecution said the offenses occurred between March and August 2011. Castillo was arrested last month.
The victims were born between 2000 and 2007.
Based on interviews by authorities, Castillo would join the children during their play time in the neighborhood’s swing area.
Last August, Castillo was among the individuals served with a notice to appear for removal proceedings in Saipan immigration court by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
In 2009, the CNMI government filed deportation proceedings in Superior Court against Castillo for being an overstayer. His worker’s entry permit expired in May 2006.
