Man Accused in Teen Sex Scandal Prepares for Sentencing

One of two men accused of having sex with a teenaged girl may soon resolve his case.

Jason Anguiano, 27, of Rialto, withdrew his plea of not guilty on Thursday, instead pleading guilty before San Bernardino Superior Court Judge Michael Dest.

District attorney officials say the change is a condition of a plea bargain that offers him three years probation and 180 days in county jail in exchange for the guilty plea. Anguiano will have to complete sexual offenders treatment program and submit to HIV/AIDS testing, officials said.

He will not be required to register as a sex offender, DA officials said. He’s scheduled to be formally sentenced Aug. 4.

Originally, Anguiano’s charges also included two counts of sexual penetration by a foreign object.

A call to Anguiano's Attorney Scott Brown, of Riverside, did not immediately return calls.

Anguiano and now former deputy Nathan Gastineau, 30, of Redlands, were arrested after allegations surfaced that the men had sex with the same teenage girl.

As former a law enforcement official, Gastineau has become the main focus of the scandal. He is due back in court Aug. 2. He had been based out of the Highland Sheriff’s office and headed that office's explorer program.

He is the founder of the Inland Empire Ghostbusters, a nonprofit, fan-based organization for fans of the Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd film. Anguiano was a member and the men were acquaintances, according to friends and members of the group. Anguiano reportedly met the girl through that club.

According to members of Colonial Defense Forces, a Battlestar Galactica fan club, Anguiano was also a member there. Gastineau, according to the organization’s web site, also founded the organization.

The issue has caused a rift in the tight knit community of Inland Empire science fiction fandom. Both organizations have attempted to keep a distance from the controversy, a move that has some upset.

But members of both organizations were awaiting the outcome of the trial and trying to keep the organizations from being impacted.

"The Colonial Defense Forces has done and will continue to do the appropriate thing by endorsing Mr. Gastineau's voluntary leave until such time as there is a legal decision rendered from a competent court," Bruce D. Jenner, Executive Director Colonial Defense Forces Inc. "At that time his status with us will be re-evaluated. This has always been our policy and our only stance or statement on this issue."