Man Molested Girl His Mother Was Baby Sitting: Gwinnett Jury

LAWRENCEVILLE, GA — A Gwinnett County jury needed just 30 minutes to convict a man on charges he sexually molested a 7-year-old girl.

Marco Antonio Esparza-Castaneda, 21, was convicted Thursday of aggravated child molestation. Superior Court Judge Debra K. Turner sentenced him to 25 years in prison and life on probation. He also will have to register as a sex offender.

On Jan. 11, 2015, the young girl told her mother she needed to tell her about something "dangerous." She then told her that Esparza-Castaneda had committed oral sodomy on her.

The abuse happened while the girl was staying with her baby sitter, who is Esparza-Castaneda's mother. At the time, he was living with his mother and several other family members at a mobile home in Gwinnett County across the street from where the girl and her family lived.

According to Gwinnett County Jail records, Esparza-Castaneda lived in Stone Mountain.

During a four-day trial, the jury heard from witnesses including Gwinnett County Police Det. Brian Dorminy, a forensic expert with the department's special victims unit. Dorminy testified that the girl's story, interview and behavior all were consistent with a child that was a victim of sexual assault.

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