South Carolina Church Volunteer Accused of Having Secret Sex Attic Where He Allegedly Molested Neighbors' Children

A web developer and church volunteer from Rock Hill, South Carolina, was arrested earlier this month on charges that he molested two brothers several years ago, the Charlotte Observer reported.

Prosectors alleged in court Monday that Julio Andres “Andy” Castillo, 34, built a secret sex chamber in his attic where he carried out the molestation of the young boys, who were also his neighbors.

Julio Andres Castillo (Image source: Herald Online)

On at least one occasion, Castillo allegedly tied up one of the boys and performed various sex acts, including oral sex, on the night before the defendant’s wedding, prosecutors said.

But Castillo’s lawyer and family claimed that he is innocent and look forward to “defending his good name” against the decade-old allegations.

The former mentor to children at York Place, a now-closed counseling center for troubled children, and volunteer at Rock Hill’s Episcopal Church of Our Saviour was charged with two counts of criminal sexual conduct with a minor under age 11, first degree; one count of criminal sexual conduct with a minor where the victim is between 11 and 14, second degree; and one count of lewd act on a child between ages 14 and 16, according to jail records.

If convicted on the first-degree offense, Castillo could face up to life in prison.

Castillo’s wife, who is pregnant with their second child and is expected to give birth within days, defended her husband in court Monday and requested that Castillo be given bond.

“I need him — I love him, and I trust him,” Kathryn Castillo told Judge John C. Hayes III.

Kathryn Castillo testified for her husband in court Monday. (Image source: Herald Online)

Castillo had been jailed without bond since his Feb. 29 arrest. In court Monday, prosecutor Erin Joyner accused Castillo of preying on the alleged victims, now ages 18 and 20, who live just two doors away from Castillo.

Joyner alleged that Castillo was so close with the alleged victims’ parents that he had keys to their home and took trips with them. She further claimed that Castillo abused this close relationship so that he could perform oral sex and masturbation with the boys, shared a bed with them on trips and invited them to his home where the acts continued in his secret attic.

The attic, which has an opening through the ceiling of another room and can be accessed only by climbing a ladder, contained a bed with rings underneath it for rope to be tied to, Joyner claimed, and rope was found in a drawer in the attic.

“Sometimes (Castillo) would tie up his (the older boy’s) arms and legs during sexual abuse,” Joyner alleged in court.

Joyner also described Castillo as a gun enthusiast who kept a stash of weapons in his home and often carried a pistol on his person.

The boys’ parents said that they found Castillo in bed with the boys on a trip to the South Carolina coast, but attributed it to Castillo’s “quirky personality” before he was married, Joyner said.

In 2009, the night before Castillo was married, Joyner said that the suspect sexually assaulted one of the boys.

According to the Herald, the 18-year-old neighbor met with investigators in January and told them Castillo sexually assaulted him four times when he was between ages 7 and 12, a police report stated. The young man said that Castillo would “sexually touch him” while he was at Castillo’s house.

The alleged victim said he waited so long to report the incidents because he “believed it to be normal behavior, and as he grew older realized it was wrong,” the report stated.

South Carolina does not have a statute of limitations on sex offenses. After a two-month investigation that includes pictures that show the attic, Castillo was arrested.

The Herald noted that the incident report listed Castillo’s age as 22. A police spokesman, however, said that was his age around the time the reported abuse occurred. Jail records list Castillo’s age to be 34.

The Herald did not name the alleged victims, and though the parents were identified in court, the Herald did not identify them either because it would identify the accusers.

The mother of the two boys said that Castillo became acquainted with her family through church, where Castillo had been a youth volunteer.

“Please do not give him an opportunity to harm another child,” the mother told Judge Hayes Monday.

Prosecutors claimed Monday that Castillo is a threat to children and the community and a flight risk to Chile where he has family.

Castillo’s defense lawyer dismissed the accusations that Castillo is a threat to others and a flight risk. This is the first time Castillo has ever been accused of a crime, and computers seized and searched contained no evidence.

Castillo is a technical officer and manager at his job and was described by his employer, William Sturgis, as a “wonderful person” who is highly respected in the community, according to the Observer.

Judge Hayes granted Castillo an $80,000 bond on the grounds that Castillo have no contact with any children other than his own, surrender all his weapons to police and surrender his passport. Bond was posted late Monday afternoon, and he was released.

While on bond, Castillo can leave South Carolina only when his wife gives birth to their child in Charlotte.

No trial date has yet been set.

(H/T: Charlotte Observer)