A Marine Corps recruiter in Michigan, Ricardo Perez Castillo, 25, has been sentenced to up to 40 years in prison for a violent attack in which he broke into a home in the middle of the night and stabbed an 11-year-old girl. He pleaded no contest to assault with intent to murder, first-degree home invasion, and second-degree assault with intent to commit criminal sexual conduct.
Judge Christina Mims described the case as disturbing on many levels, calling the assault “a real-life horror movie.” She emphasized that it was only by luck that the young girl survived.
The victim wrote a letter describing the terror of waking up in pain, seeing her own blood everywhere, and being unable to understand why she was being attacked during what should have been a simple sleepover. She said she was terrified and traumatized by the ordeal.
According to prosecutors, Castillo entered the home in Rockford through an unlocked side door in the early hours of June 15, 2024. Once inside, he removed his pants and underwear, took a knife from the kitchen, and went upstairs. He first checked the parents’ bedroom, then a locked room, before entering the bedroom where two girls were asleep. The 11-year-old victim was on an air mattress, and the homeowner’s daughter was in a top bunk. Castillo got on top of the girl on the mattress and began stabbing her, believing he was aiming for her neck.
The girl screamed, waking her friend, and the homeowner rushed into the room. He subdued Castillo and held him at gunpoint until police arrived. Castillo later made disturbing statements to investigators, including that he intended to kill the whole family and believed the girl would be “the weakest.” He also admitted he may have been attempting to sexually assault her after killing her.
Prosecutors described the case as a nightmare scenario, something no parent would ever imagine happening during a child’s sleepover in a gated community.
At his sentencing hearing, Castillo knelt and begged for forgiveness, saying he knew he didn’t deserve it. He apologized repeatedly to the victims, their families, and the entire community, claiming he had been lost but had since “found God.”
