Rock Hill man abused neighbor child in sex attic, jury says. He’s heading to prison.
A Rock Hill man will spend 12 years in a South Carolina prison after a York County jury found him guilty of sex assaults against a neighbor child, court officials said.
Julio Andres “Andy” Castillo was arrested in March 2016 after a child told Rock Hill police of the abuse, which happened in a secret attic, according to court testimony. The incidents happened between 2005 and 2009 in Castillo’s house when the child was in elementary school, prosecutors said in court.
Castillo was convicted Friday on two charges of criminal sexual conduct against a minor and four counts of lewd act against a child, according to prosecutors and court officials. The jury deliberated about two hours before returning guilty verdicts on all counts, officials said. The trial started Wednesday.
Sixteenth Circuit Assistant Solicitors Erin Joyner and Matthew Shelton successfully argued Castillo used his access and trust with the victim to assault the child. The incidents started with massages and moved to overt sex acts, Joyner said in court.
After court, Joyner said the victim showed tremendous courage in coming forward after the abuse at the hands of someone the victim trusted.
“We believe the evidence overwhelmingly supports the verdict of the jury,” Joyner said. “Andy Castillo gained the trust of the victim and ... family. He used that position of trust to abuse the victim over a number of years. The victim is to be commended for coming forward and shedding the light of truth of what happened ... all those years ago.”
The Herald does not identify victims in sex cases.
Castillo testified in his own defense Thursday. He denied all the allegations of improper touching or sex.
Jack Swerling, Castillo’s lawyer, asked Castillo if any of the testimony was true.
“There was no sexual activity at all,” Castillo testified.
But under cross-examination from Joyner, Castillo said he had ropes and other items in his attic that were sex-related. Castillo testified the attic items were not for anything inappropriate.
Castillo was trusted to the point that he took the victim to plays and attended sports events, according to testimony. The accuser testified that Castillo committed sexual assault the night before Castillo’s wedding.
A second accuser also testified as a prosecution witness. Charges from York County Sheriff’s Office deputies in connection to the second accuser remain pending, court records show.
Castillo was a volunteer at Episcopal Church of Our Saviour in Rock Hill who assisted with a youth choir until his 2016 arrest, testimony showed. Church officials shut down his ministry and banned him after his arrest.
Castillo was sentenced by visiting Circuit Court Judge G. Thomas Cooper. The 12-year sentence is for all the convictions in the case, Shelton said.
This story was originally published November 22, 2019 at 5:16 PM.
