A baby sitter’s husband accused of sexually abusing a then-8-year-old girl in Silver Spring has been released from jail without paying an upfront bond.
Joel Antonio Sagastume-Gonzalez, 40, is charged with one count of sex abuse of a minor, one count of a second-degree sex offense and two counts of a third-degree sex offense.
Montgomery County prosecutors had asked that Sagastume-Gonzalez be released from jail on $10,000 bond, and on condition that he be electronically monitored and have no contact with children. Instead, a judge agreed to release him on an unsecured bond, meaning he must show up for his next court date on March 8, or the court will be owed $10,000.
The girl, now 14, told Montgomery County Police in January that she was abused by her baby sitter’s husband repeatedly over four months in 2013.
The girl said she would be left at the sitter’s home before school in the morning, but the sitter would go to work, leaving the girl alone with the husband. She told investigators she was fondled and forced to perform sex acts.
The judge also ordered Sagastume-Gonzalez to turn over all of his travel documents, and banned him from having contact with children unless he is supervised by another adult.
If convicted, he faces up to 65 years in prison.
