Montgomery County judge releases accused child molester without cash bond

SILVER SPRING, Md. (FOX 5 DC) - A Montgomery County judge released an accused child molester on an unsecured bond, which means the man who is accused of multiple counts of sexual abuse of a minor did not have to pay anything in order to get out of jail.

Montgomery County Police say 40-year-old Joel Sagastume-Gonzalez forced a girl who was eight years old at the time to perform oral sex on him. Court documents say Sagastume-Gonzalez's wife was supposed to be babysitting the victim but left her alone with her husband.

The alleged abuse happened in 2013, but the victim, now 14, is just coming forward.

According to the charging documents the victim tried to resist, but Sagastume-Gonzalez would "hit, slap and kick her."

Montgomery County District Court Judge John Moffett released Sagastume-Gonzalez on the unsecured personal bond on February 12.

The reason behind the Moffett's decision remains unclear.

FOX 5 asked a spokeswoman for Maryland Courts for more information and received the following statement which read in part, "judges are bound by their code of ethics and are unable to comment about individual cases."

Sagastume-Gonzalez has his next hearing on March 8.