Ex-firefighter back on trial after child sex-abuse convictions were tossed

An ex-Miami-Dade firefighter is back on trial Tuesday — more than a year after an appeals court overturned his child sex-abuse convictions.

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Fernando Castano, 52, faced a new Miami jury, which is tasked with deciding whether he is guilty of molesting children. The allegations surfaced after Castano was arrested in connection to a 2021 domestic dispute with his now-ex.

In 2022, Castano was convicted of a slew of charges linked to him allegedly sexually abusing the children — and pulling a gun on his then-wife during the dispute. Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Ellen Sue Venzer, who is presiding over the retrial, had sentenced Castano to life in prison.

Castano, who worked the 2021 Surfside condo collapse, blamed stress from responding to the tragedy for pulling the weapon.

Castano’s ex-wife testified on Tuesday, saying she became aware of the allegations in 2017. On the stand, she said did not call police at the time because the then-firefighter threatened to kill himself.

In May 2025, the Third District Court of Appeal reversed Castano’s convictions on the sex-abuse charges, citing how prosecutors introduced the testimony of Castano’s pastor. Castano had been convicted of sexual battery, lewd and lascivious molestation of a child and lewd and lascivious exhibition.

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During Castano’s original trial, the pastor testified that Castano told her he had “sexual encounters” with one of the underage victims. The pastor, according to the court’s opinion, spoke to Castano’s then-wife, who “confirmed the abuse.”

Conversations with members of clergy are often privileged and cannot be introduced as evidence against a defendant. In the written opinion, 3DCA Judge Kansas Gooden said the “relationship between a member of the clergy and parishioner is sacred.”

The appeals court also ruled that Venzer, the trial judge, incorrectly allowed the pastor’s testimony. That testimony, the court found, was not harmless error, meaning that it could have led to Castano’s conviction.

Gooden and Judges Norma Lindsey and Alexander Bokor made up the three-judge panel that considered Castano’s appeal.

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