75-year-old gets 8-year sentence for sex assault

Eight years in prison could amount to a life sentence for a 75-year-old Rolling Meadows man who received eight years in exchange for his guilty plea to a charge of predatory criminal sexual assault, a Class X felony that carries a sentence range of six to 30 years.

Daniel Castellanos molested a 6-year-old victim at Castellanos' home on the 2300 block of Algonquin Road during 2007 and 2008, said Cook County Assistant State's Attorney Mike Gerber during Castellanos' sentencing Wednesday before Judge Thomas Fecarotta of Rolling Meadows' Third Municipal District.

The defendant and victim are not related. At the time of the incident, the child was under the care of one of Castellanos' relatives.

In pronouncing the sentence, Fecarotta noted the defendant's age and the impact a long sentence might have on him.

"It's a potential death sentence," acknowledged Fecarotta, who added that while Castellanos may survive his term, "your victim will have the memory of this assault for the rest of her life."

Fecarotta also ordered that Castellanos undergo sex offender counseling in prison. He will have to complete at least 85 percent of his sentence before he's released.