SAN BERNARDINO – A former county sheriff’s deputy, 33-year-old Nathan Gastineau, is charged with having sex with a female teen-age police Explorer, will face trial next month, according to authorities.
He sat in a courtroom last month when San Bernardino Superior Court Judge William Powell set Jan. 13 as the trial date after at least five continuances.
Gastineau has heard pre-trial hearing testimony from deputies who related the girl, 16-years-old at the time, had consensual sex with Gastineau at least six times before she turned 16-years-old. Part of the evidence is a videotape that shows the two having sex. Reports are that the two engaged in sexual activities on at least 20 total occasions.
Two of those encounters came while he was working in the field, according to statements.
Investigators have also testified in hearings that Gastineau has admitted having sex with a teenage girl, claims he has since denied. He is charged with three counts of lewd acts with a child and three counts of unlawful sexual intercourse – all felony counts.
The victim is an Explorer, which is a program for youths designed to learn about law enforcement careers. Part of the Explorer program is for youths to go on ride-alongs with officers.
Gastineau was arrested on April 22, 2011.
At a hearing, several pieces of evidence were laid out, including a claim that when the victim turned 16, the two had sex on six occasions before her 16th birthday. Gastineau’s Redlands-based apartment was the scene for those encounters, it was testified.
Once the victim turned 16, they were reportedly involved in two sexual activities each week. When the relationship was reported to authorities in March 2011, there had been at least 20 sexual encounters.
Read more:
The Sun: Judge moves trial for ex-deputy in sex case to January
The Press-Enterprise: SAN BERNARDINO: Trial set for ex-sheriff’s deputy in sex case
Huffington Post: Nathan Gastineau, San Bernardino Sheriff’s Deputy, Claims Accuser Was A ‘Female Teenage Predator’
