A 35-year-old Texas man who held a woman captive in a house while beating and torturing her until she gave him money and signed over the title to her Mercedes-Benz has been sentenced to 40 years in prison.
Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg said, “Domestic violence can take many different forms, which is why we take these cases so seriously. This man preys on women and when they don’t do what he wants, the violence escalates. We are glad this woman survived her ordeal and got justice.”
Andrew R. Castillo, 35, of Houston, was convicted by a Harris County jury and sentenced to 40 years in prison earlier this month after six days of trial for brutally beating and burning a 42-year-old woman he had been in a relationship with before the attack.
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He was sent to prison Wednesday after a hearing in which the woman made a victim impact statement.
“You are a wolf in sheep’s clothing,” the woman told Castillo during her statement in court. “I saw the devil in you on the day of the robbery.”
The woman and Castillo had been in a dating relationship but stopped seeing each other after Castillo was arrested on several other charges, including human trafficking and aggravated sexual assault of a child.
Castillo is a musician with an Instagram following of 106,000 followers under the name Sir Freakalot Fresh (@sirfr3akalotfresh). The victim had a cellphone that Castillo used, and she turned it over to law enforcement to help build the case against him.
Castillo, who was arrested for those crimes and then freed on bond, lured the victim to the vacant house of a mutual friend. Once she was there, Castillo ordered another woman to repeatedly physically attack the victim over the course of 13 hours.
Castillo threatened the victim with a handgun to force her to transfer money to him. He later used that money to go shopping for new shoes.
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While she was trapped at the house, the victim was severely beaten and tortured, including being burned with a torch lighter until she signed over the title to her Mercedes-Benz sedan.
Assistant District Attorneys James McKenney and Tim Boman, who are assigned to the DA’s human trafficking/exploitation division, prosecuted the case.
“He acted as a parasite and a master manipulator,” McKenney said. “He is a narcissist who finds people and uses them for the money. He’s truly evil.”
Castillo must serve at least half of his sentence before he is eligible for parole. The remaining charges against him are pending.
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