The sex offender status of Gaetano D. Addamo, the co-owner of Aroma Cellars who was arrested Wednesday for failing to register, originated from a sexual battery case in Napa County.
Records were available at the San Benito County Courthouse since his probation department supervision was transferred to San Benito County, where he lives on Tierra Del Sol in Hollister.
Those records indicate Addamo committed sexual battery in May 2017. The Napa County district attorney initially charged him with separate felony and misdemeanor charges alleging sexual battery by restraint, while a felony conviction could have resulted in a prison sentence of two to four years.
But Addamo accepted a plea deal for the misdemeanor sexual battery charge, and was sentenced in June to probation for three years and a requirement he register as a sex offender. He served one day in jail, according to records.
He was also ordered to serve 240 days of community service and is prohibited from possessing a firearm for 10 years.
The court document indicates law enforcement accused Addamo of touching an intimate part of a victim while she had been unlawfully restrained. The records show an accomplice was involved, but do not identify that person.
The San Benito County Sheriff’s Office on Wednesday arrested Addamo because he had failed to register as a sex offender, according to the sheriff’s office.
As of Wednesday night, Addamo remained in custody at the San Benito County Jail pending arraignment, according to the sheriff’s office.
Aroma Cellars was opened in 2017. A fictitious business statement filed with the county clerk lists David and Nicole Addamo as owners.
Gaetano Addamo is a winemaker and viticulturist. His LinkedIn page shows he is from Hollister but also recently owned a winery in Santa Maria where he has been a winemaker.
