Trial set for Rock Hill church volunteer accused of attacking boy in secret sex room
A trial against a Rock Hill man whom police and prosecutors say abused a boy in a secret sex attic is expected to start Wednesday, court officials said.
Julio Andres “Andy” Castillo was arrested in March 2016 on criminal sexual conduct against a child and lewd act charges after a boy told Rock Hill police of the abuse, officials said in court Tuesday.
Castillo, through his lawyers, has denied the allegations. Others, including his family members, have supported Castillo in previous court hearings.
Castillo was a volunteer at Episcopal Church of Our Saviour in Rock Hill. Church officials shut down his ministry and banned him after his arrest.
The incidents happened between 2005 and 2009 in Castillo’s house attic, according to indictments read in court Tuesday during jury selection.
The Herald does not name victims in sex cases.
The trial is being held at the Moss Justice Center in York. Visiting South Carolina Circuit Court Judge G. Thomas Cooper Jr. is presiding.
Castillo is represented by Jack Swerling, one of South Carolina’s most well-known and experienced defense lawyers. Swerling, who has practiced law for more than 40 years, has appeared on several television programs, according to Swerling’s website.
Swerling sought to keep photos of the attic from the 2016 investigation out of the trial.
“There is no way that anything that is nine years old, 10 years old, would not be stale,” Swerling argued in pre-trial motions. “There is no way those things would be relevant years later.”
Prosecutor Erin Joyner said in previous hearings Castillo tied the boy during sex acts in Castillo’s attic. Castillo knew the boy through his close relationship with the boy’s parents, according to pre-trial motions in court Tuesday.
Joyner argued Tuesday the attic is important evidence. Joyner said Castillo engaged in massages then sex acts with the minor child.
Cooper allowed the search warrant materials into the trial.
Pre-trial motions and arguments were held Monday and Tuesday. Opening statements and testimony are expected to begin Wednesday.
