OC Man Charged With Impregnating, Molesting Stepdaughter

SANTA ANA (AP) — An Orange County man has been charged with sexually abusing a relative and getting her pregnant when she was 11 years old.

Fifty-six-year-old Mariano Castro was charged Thursday with continuous sexual abuse and other felonies. He remains jailed on $1 million bail Friday and could face 34 years to life in prison if convicted.

Prosecutors contend that Castro sexually assaulted a relative at his Santa Ana home from 2000 to 2008.

The girl allegedly was molested from the ages of 8 to 17 and gave birth to a girl when she was 12. She kept the child and only reported the alleged sexual assault to police on Tuesday.

Prosecutors say the teen recently began going to a new church and confided in the pastor, who encouraged her to contact authorities.

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