Midland man sentenced to two terms of life in prison

ODESSA, Texas (KOSA) - Midland County District Attorney Laura Nodolf announced that a 46-year-old Midland man was sentenced Wednesday afternoon to two terms of life in prison after being convicted of multiple child sexual abuse charges by a Midland County jury.

Jesus Trevino Castillo was charged with two counts of Aggravated Sexual Assault of a Child and an additional five counts of Indecency with a Child. After hearing evidence during the earlier part of the week, the jury found Castillo guilty of all charges on Wednesday morning after less than two hours of deliberating. Following the verdict, Castillo chose to have his punishment assessed by 385th District Court Leah G. Robertson, who ordered life in prison for each of the Aggravated Sexual Assaults and fifteen years each for the Indecency with Child charges.

The life sentences were the maximum possible punishment, and the court then ordered the two life sentences to run consecutively or back-to-back.

The evidence presented in the case showed that in February of 2019 Castillo committed multiple acts of sexual abuse against a child under the age of 14. The defendant was charged with the crimes after an investigation by the Midland Police Department. The punishment assessed by the court means that Castillo will not start serving his second life sentence until he has completed his first life sentence, or after he is granted parole. Under the law, he would not be eligible for parole on either life sentence until he had served at least 30 years of the sentence. As a result, Castillo must serve a minimum of 60 years before any possible release. Eligibility for parole doesn’t guarantee he would be released even after serving 60 years. All the remaining 15-year sentences will run concurrently along with the life sentences.

Each of the Indecency charges carried a maximum punishment of 20 years.