Fort Worth man offered cocaine, money to 15-year-old in exchange for sex, warrant says
Marco Castaneda offered cocaine and money to a 15-year-old Fort Worth girl who he picked up while she was walking home from school in October, a warrant says.
The 39-year-old Castaneda took her to his home, where he made the offer so he could sleep with her, the arrest warrant says.
Castaneda called her “cute” and touched her breasts, but she told authorities she never had sex with him, according to the warrant obtained Thursday by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
Castaneda was booked into jail this week and faces a charge of trafficking a child, according to jail records and the warrant.
He was arrested Tuesday after the warrant was issued.
Castaneda was in the Tarrant County Jail on Friday in lieu of a $44,000 bond.
He is expected to be charged with trafficking a child and an assault charge unrelated to the trafficking case, according to jail records. He also is being held on a no valid driver’s license violation out of Arlington, according to Tarrant County court records.
Castaneda denied the allegations to Fort Worth Detective Victor Hernandez during a January interview, but he admitted picking up the girl and taking her to his Fort Worth home, the warrant says.
The warrant written by Hernandez gave this brief account of the incident:
In October, the girl was walking home from school when a man later identified as Marco Castaneda drove by, stopped and gave her a ride in his “silver and nice” car.
Castaneda did cocaine as he took her to his home, and offered her “coke” and money to sleep with him, the warrant stated.
At some point, Castaneda touched her breasts as they sat on his bed.
If she needed money, Castaneda told her, she needed to have sex with him, according to the warrant.
He repeatedly groped her and offered money for sex, but she refused.
She later reported the incident to her mother.
By legal definition, the girl was trafficked when Castaneda picked her up and drove her to his home, and it was prostitution when he offered money and cocaine in exchange for sex, according to the warrant.
Castaneda has a criminal history in Tarrant County. He has drug possession and assault charges from 1997 to 2005, according to Tarrant County criminal court records.
