Judge sentences Amherst man to 5-6 years in state prison in indecent assault and battery on a child case

NORTHAMPTON  –  Hampshire Superior Court Judge Richard Carey on Monday sentenced Jorge Castillo to 5-6 years in state prison followed by 5 years on probation.

Castillo, 41, had been convicted last week by a jury on five counts of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14 and a single count of witness intimidation.

Northwestern Assistant District Attorney Andrew C. Covington had recommended a sentence of 6-8 years in state prison followed by 5 years on probation while Easthampton defense attorney Alfred Chamberland asked for a sentence of 2 ½ years in the House of Correction followed by 5 years on probation.

The victim in the case, who was 10 and 11 years old at the time of the assaults in 2013 and 2014, addressed Judge Carey, saying, “I was robbed of my childhood, but I don’t want to be robbed of my adulthood.”

Carey set probation conditions including that Castillo register as a sex offender and have no contact with the victim or any children other than his biological children. He also recommended that Castillo serve his sentence in a house of correction rather than state prison.

“The Commonwealth is satisfied with this sentence, as is the survivor in this case,” said ADA Covington.