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Fernando Castano<\/p>\n
Miami-Dade Corrections and Rehabilitation<\/p>\n
A former Miami-Dade firefighter was found guilty on Monday of sexually abusing children in a new trial stemming from an appeals court overturning his convictions.<\/p>\n
Fernando Castano, 52, was convicted by a six-person jury after more than three hours of deliberation. The allegations against Castano surfaced after he was arrested in connection to a 2021 domestic dispute with his now ex-wife.<\/p>\n
In 2022, Castano was convicted of a slew of charges linked to him allegedly sexually abusing the children \u2014 and pulling a gun on his then-wife during the dispute. Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Ellen Sue Venzer, who presided over the retrial, had sentenced Castano to life in prison.<\/p>\n
READ MORE: Ex-firefighter back on trial after child sex-abuse convictions were tossed<\/a><\/p>\n The ex-firefighter, who worked the 2021 Surfside condo collapse, blamed stress from responding to the tragedy for pulling the weapon.<\/p>\n Facing the jury, prosecutor Natalie Snyder said the sexual abuse had been going on for years, so there were no injuries on the underage victims. But several pieces in that evidence pointed to Castano\u2019s guilt.<\/p>\n The victims testified in court about the abuse. Castano\u2019s wife was aware of the allegations. The abuse, Snyder said, was confirmed through text messages.<\/p>\n \u201cUse your common sense,\u201d Snyder said. \u201cThere\u2019s no other explanation.\u201d<\/p>\n The prosecutor, in her closing argument, urged the jury to find Castano guilty.<\/p>\n \u201cThis nightmare, this secret has finally bubbled over,\u201d Snyder said.<\/p>\n The sexual abuse allegations, defense attorney Jude Faccidomo said, were like a \u201cgame of telephone.\u201d He said the victims concocted the abuse because they were in fear of Castano.<\/p>\n Looking at the jury, Faccidomo said he argued that the allegations against Castano were not proven beyond a reasonable doubt.<\/p>\n \u201cThere were things that came out on the stand that do not paint my client in the best light,\u201d Faccidomo said. \u201cThat is not why you are here.\u201d<\/p>\n Why was the case back in court?<\/p>\n In May 2025, the Third District Court of Appeal reversed Castano\u2019s convictions on the sex-abuse charges, citing how prosecutors introduced the testimony of Castano\u2019s pastor. Castano had been convicted of sexual battery, lewd and lascivious molestation of a child and lewd and lascivious exhibition.<\/p>\n During Castano\u2019s original trial, the pastor testified that Castano told her he had \u201csexual encounters\u201d with one of the underage victims. The pastor, according to the court\u2019s opinion, spoke to Castano\u2019s then-wife, who \u201cconfirmed the abuse.\u201d Conversations with members of clergy are often privileged and cannot be introduced as evidence against a defendant.<\/p>\n The appeals court also ruled that Venzer, the trial judge, incorrectly allowed the pastor\u2019s testimony. That testimony, the court found, was not harmless error, meaning that it could have led to Castano\u2019s conviction. Judge Venzer had found that Castano\u2019s communication with the pastor was not privileged because Castano and his pastor met at a football field during a practice and not in private.<\/p>\n But the appeals court said Castano had an expectation of privacy, focusing on how he did not intend for his conversation with the pastor to be disclosed to others aside from his then-wife.<\/p>\n
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