Former 'Cake Boss' cast member gets 9 years in prison for sexually assaulting girl
May 23, 2012
By The Jersey Journal


Aaron Houston/For The Star-LedgerFormer "Cake Boss" cast member Remigio "Remy" Gonzalez appears in Morris County Court in this file photo. He was sentenced today to nine years in state prison for sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl.


MORRISTOWN — An East Hanover man who appeared on the TLC reality show “Cake Boss” was sentenced today to nine years in state prison for sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl.

Remigio Gonzalez, 34, must serve 85 percent of that term — more than seven years, seven months — before he will become eligible for parole. Gonzalez, an immigrant, is virtually certain to face deportation to his native Mexico after his release, officials agreed.

Superior Court Judge Stuart Minkowitz in Morristown sentenced Gonzalez after refusing to let him withdraw the guilty plea he entered on June 24 to two counts of aggravated sexual assault.

Minkowitz said he found it “extremely troublesome” that Gonzalez had been attempting to “minimize” the impact of his behavior on the victim.

But after losing his battle to cancel his guilty plea, Gonzalez expressed remorse during his sentencing.

“I want to apologize to the victim,” Gonzalez told the court. “I truly am sorry for all the pain and all the embarrassment I caused.”

The assaults occurred between July 2009 and March 2010 in East Hanover and Florham Park, according to court documents. Gonzalez was once married to the sister of Buddy Valastro, the title character of “Cake Boss.”

Gonzalez, who was represented by public defender Leigh Gilsenan, had claimed that his former private attorney, Daniel Kratka, had not shown him the case paperwork and hadn’t fully explained the degree of parole supervision and restrictions he would face upon release. He also said some of the sexual activities he admitted to had not actually occurred, and that he was overcome by “emotion” that “clouded his judgment” when he agreed to plead guilty, according to the judge.

Kratka, however, testified that he had shown Gonzalez the paperwork, even though the defendant hadn’t been interested in seeing it. He acknowledged he didn’t fully explain the parole supervision but said that was a moot point because Gonzalez had “made peace” with the fact that he would be deported upon release.

Minkowitz pointed out that Gonzalez didn’t deny some of the sexual activities until a pre-sentencing investigation after he had pleaded guilty. Also, Minkowitz noted, Gonzalez had previously said he made his guilty plea voluntarily and there was “no evidence he was psychologically impaired “or under the influence of drugs or alcohol on the day he pleaded guilty.

After Minkowitz rejected the motion to withdraw the guilty plea, he moved immediately to the sentencing hearing and accepted Morris County Assistant Prosecutor Meg Rodriguez’s recommendation for a sentence at the higher end of the agreed-on range.

Gonzalez had entered his guilty plea under an agreement with the prosecutor’s office that called for a sentence of 5 to 10 years.

The judge said Gonzalez “preyed upon” a victim who suffers a disability, adding that he his acts were “compulsive” and “repetitive” and he’s likely to commit the actions again.
Former 'Cake Boss' cast member gets 9 years in prison for sexually assaulting girl | NJ.com

Related coverage:
• Man who appeared on Cake Boss will get hearing to withdraw guilty plea
• Man from 'Cake Boss' pleads guilty to aggravated sexual assault
• Former 'Cake Boss' assistant Remy Gonzalez to be arraigned on sex charges June 24