Four Men Arrested For Lewd Acts With Huntington Beach Minor

HUNTINGTON BEACH, CA — A 13-year-old Huntington Beach girl was reportedly victimized by at least four men from across the country, police say. On Wednesday, a 42-year-old Florida man made his first appearance in court on charges of sexually assaulting the girl.

Dwight Nicholas Castaldi, who was arrested Monday, was charged last month with four charges of lewd acts with a minor younger than 14 and a count of luring a child with the intent to commit a sex crime, all felonies, according to court records.

Castaldi was being held in lieu of $100,000 bail, according to the Orange County Jail database. The dates of the alleged crimes are in January 2016, according to court records.

The four defendants do not know each other, but met the 13-year-old victim online, according to the Orange County District Attorney's Office. Two of the men had personal sexual relations with the teen, but two others engaged in sexual conduct with her online, according to prosecutors.

"On Sept. 13, Detectives from the Huntington Beach Police Department began an investigation into four adult men accused of communicating online with a minor victim, whom they believed was 13-14 years old," Huntington Beach police officer Angela Bennett said. "It is believed the suspects used multiple social media platforms to communicate with the minor, including MyLOL, Snapchat, KIK, Skype, and Facebook."

Detectives determined three of the men traveled to the Huntington Beach area where they engaged in sexual activity with a minor, Bennett said.

The other defendants in the case are Christian Reid Palmer, 27, of Sacramento, Sohrab Anaraki, 33, of Topanga, and Bradley Thomas Williams, 34, of Dana Point. Palmer's attorney, John Barnett, declined comment.

Williams is charged with three counts of lewd acts with a minor younger than 14 and a count of meeting a minor to commit lewd conduct, all felonies.

Anaraki is charged with one count each of luring a child with the intent to commit a sex crime and meeting a minor to commit lewd conduct, and six counts of lewd acts with a minor younger than 14, all felonies.

Palmer is charged with one count each of luring a child with the intent to commit a sex crime and meeting a minor to commit a lewd act and seven lewd acts with a minor younger than 14, all felonies.

All four defendants face a sentencing enhancement allegation of substantial sexual conduct with a minor, according to court records.

Palmer, Anaraki and Williams pleaded not guilty last month and were next due in court for a pretrial hearing on April 27. Of the four men, only Castaldi remained in custody, as of this report.

Detectives believe there may be additional victims who might have been contacted or solicited online by these suspects. If you have further information or know of potential victims, please contact the Huntington Beach Police Information Hotline at 714-375-5066. Anyone wishing to remain anonymous should call the WeTip Anonymous Crime Reporting Hotline at 1-800-78-CRIME.

City News Service contributed to this report.

Photos, courtesy Huntington Beach Police Department