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Man stands mute on sex assault charges
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MONROE - A 31-year-old man stood mute Wednesday, May 9 in Green County Circuit Court on felony charges of repeated sexual assault of two young girls at homes in Monroe and Brodhead.

Norberto Santiago Castellanos, Brodhead, also waived his right to a preliminary hearing.

Since Santiago Castellanos stood mute and chose not enter a plea, the court clerk automatically entered pleas of not guilty on his two Class A felony counts of repeated sexual assault of the same child under the age of 13 and Class I felony count of exposing a child to harmful material.

According to a criminal complaint filed last week, Santiago Castellanos regularly had vaginal and anal intercourse with two girls, ages 6 and 8, since October 2010. The girls told authorities the assaults happened in Monroe and in Brodhead.

The girls say Santiago Castellanos threatened to spank them or go to jail and "back to Mexico" if they told on him.

He also reportedly showed the 8-year-old pornographic movies on an MP4 player on several occasions.

An interpreter and Spanish-speaking lawyer have been assigned to the case, as English is not Santiago Castellanos' first language. Madison attorney Frank Medina is representing Santiago Castellanos.

Jeffrey Kohl, assistant district attorney for Green County, is prosecuting the case. A pre-trial conference has been scheduled for June 26 before Judge Thomas Vale.