Sex Offender Guilty in Third-Strike Case

A 42-year-old woman received her third-strike felony conviction Tuesday when a jury found her guilty of failing to register with police as a sex offender after she moved from Santa Ana to Lake Forest.

Ginger Castle Bartolon, who spent more than four years in prison in the late 1980s for molesting her ex-husband’s young nephew and niece, now faces 25 years to life in prison for not properly notifying authorities that she is a convicted sex offender.

Despite the lengthy sentence Bartolon faces, Superior Court Judge Gary P. Ryan allowed her to remain free on her own recognizance until her Oct. 7 sentencing.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Charles Middleton, who handled the recent case as well as her previous convictions, said he was pleased with the verdict but upset that Bartolon was not immediately taken into custody.

“I’m concerned that with her past conduct, Ginger Castle won’t show up,” Middleton said.

Attorney Donald C. Hall, who represented Bartolon, declined to comment.

During the trial, Bartolon testified that she did not know she was required by law to register as a sex offender when she changed residences, Middleton said.

However, evidence was presented to the jury showing that Bartolon had conversations with law enforcement officials, signed documents and received a letter informing her of her duty to register, Middleton said.

In 1993, Bartolon was convicted, along with her then-husband, of molesting his 3-year-old niece and 5-year-old nephew. According to prosecutors, the couple forced the children to eat and drink human waste and participate in sex with a dog.

Middleton said Tuesday that it was “one of the most bizarre” cases he has ever handled as a prosecutor. Bartolon’s former husband, Frank Castle, was sentenced to 26 years behind bars. He died in prison, Middleton said.

Bartolon was sentenced to 10 years and eight months but was paroled in 1988 after serving four years.

After being paroled, Bartolon moved to Santa Ana, where her parole officer made her register with police as a sex offender, Middleton said. She later moved to Lake Forest after her parole was terminated but did not register with police as state law required.

Failing to register as a sex offender was changed from a misdemeanor to a felony offense in January 1995, Middleton said. As a result, Bartolon now has a third felony conviction.

Because she was previously convicted on two separate charges of sexually molesting a child--one of the serious or violent crimes that count as strikes under the state’s controversial “three strikes and you’re out” law--Bartolon faces the possibility of a life sentence without parole.