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Accused I-4 Rapist Released On Bond Without GPS

Accused I-4 rapist, Winel Castro Molina, was allowed to bond out of jail Tuesday night. But Eyewitness News confirmed Wednesday he doesn't have to wear a GPS monitoring device. Castro-Molina is charged with sexual battery.

Castro-Molina can go wherever he wants, with no court-ordered monitoring. The judge didn't even take away Winel Castro-Molina's passport when he let him bond out of jail.

A woman pulled over to the side of I-4 in Altamonte Springs late Tuesday night two weeks ago because she was sick. Police say Castro-Molina pulled over and promised to help her, but instead drove her to a storage unit and raped her.


SUSPECT LEAVES JAIL: Raw Video | See Images
SLIDESHOW: Images Of Suspect, Storage Unit, I-4

Even Castro-Molina's bail bondsman said he was surprised that he’s not being monitored. The bondsman has a financial interest in making sure Castro-Molina doesn't try to flee.

The bondsman told Eyewitness News that he's seen many people accused of less serious crimes in the jail for which the judge has required more monitoring.

Eyewitness News reporter Mark Boyle confronted Castro-Molina as he walked out of jail.

“Winel, you're accused of raping a sick woman. What do you have to say? You have nothing to say? You're accused of very serious crimes. You have to have something to say?” Boyle asked.

After seeing Eyewitness News cameras, Castro-Molina walked back inside the jail to avoid the news crew.

“Winel, can you tell me why you're trying to hide back here?” asked Boyle.

“I have nothing to say. You need to talk to my lawyer. I don't have nothing to say,” said Winel as he continued to elude the reporter and camera.

The accused I-4 rapist, Winel Castro-Molina, did all he could to hide from the news cameras as he walked out of jail Tuesday night.

Just minutes earlier, WFTV’s undercover camera captured him sitting inside looking obviously tense and agitated.

He paid $2,500, which is the standard ten percent of his bond to free himself and will have no formal oversight from the court.

“There really is no sanction for his behavior. He's still walking around out there,” Melanie Ledgerwood of Courtwatch said.

Despite a list of addresses all around the country, Castro-Molina was not required to surrender his passport and is not required to wear a GPS bracelet as he roams Central Florida.

“The fact that he committed a very serious offense and he's just kind of out there and there's not extra level of GPS monitoring is very concerning,” Ledgerwood said.

Castro-Molina does not have a criminal history and $25,000 does match the bond schedule for his particular circumstances. But a judge always has full discretion when assigning a bond amount or allowing none at all.

The courthouse is closed Wednesday, so Eyewitness News could not reach out to the first appearance judge who set Castro-Molina's bond or even confirm which judge it was.

“The fact that this defendant simply got out on a $25,000 bond, what message of accountability does that send to victims of rape?” Melanie Ledgerwood said.

Eyewitness News hired a private investigator from Brown and Divar to shadow Castro-Molina, which was easier said than done. WFTV’s private investigator says the suspect and his bondsman sped away from the jail at speeds of nearly 100 mph and, without any formal court monitoring, his bondsman is the only monitor on the suspect, who seems to have addresses all over.

“He's had addresses here in Orlando, Puerto Rico, Sanford, Lake Mary, Kissimmee and Pennsylvania,” the P.I. said.

“This guy could be anywhere?” WFTV reporter George Spencer asked.

“Anywhere. Absolutely,” replied the P.I.

Eyewitness News tried finding him at just one of the addresses to no avail.

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