A former Burbank para-educator convicted of molesting a special-needs student in his classroom could be released from prison this week.
Alfredo Castillo, 81, was expected to be released Jan. 20 but that date was adjusted to sometime in February, according to a state Department of Corrections spokeswoman.
The department has started notifying law enforcement that a registered sex offender is returning to the community, the spokeswoman said.
Castillo is to be released to Pasco, where he lived with his family before a Walla Walla County jury found him guilty of massaging the middle-school girl's shoulders, sliding his hand under her shirt and fondling her.
The sexual abuse occurred when the girl was a student at Columbia Middle School during the 2004-05 school year.
The Columbia School District immediately placed Castillo on paid administrative leave, then fired him two months later as a result of the district's investigation, Superintendent Ben Small has said.
Meanwhile, attorneys have been exchanging information in a civil case against the district alleging school officials negligently hired and supervised Castillo, said the girl's lawyer, Jay Flynn.
The trial in the Walla Walla County Superior Court case is scheduled Nov. 3-7. The lawsuit does not list a specific damage amount, but a claim submitted with the district last March before the suit was filed asked for $2 million.
The girl is not named under a Herald policy not to identify people who report being sexually assaulted.
Castillo had worked as a bilingual teacher, substitute teacher and paraeducator at various grade levels in the Tri-Cities. He resigned and subsequently was fired from the Pasco School District in 2002 when similar allegations surfaced about inappropriate behavior with female students.
Castillo's sentence for 15 months included conditions that upon release he must undergo psycho-sexual treatment and register as a sex offender for his second-degree child molestation conviction.
Sheriff Mike Humphreys of Walla Walla County said the Department of Corrections office in the Tri-Cities is handling the notification because Pasco is Castillo's hometown. He said he was told a tentative release date is Thursday.
Castillo has been serving his prison term at Yakima's Ahtanum View Corrections Center, which has an assisted living facility for elderly and ailing offenders.
If for some reason he is not released this month, a department spokeswoman said his sentence would be completed June 20.
