New Details in Molestation Allegations Against Volunteer Pastor From Winkler Co.
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A Winkler County man is at the center of accusations of improper conduct with an underage female at the Amarillo church where he was a volunteer pastor.
Lubbock law firm Glasheen, Valles & Inderman, LLP filed the lawsuit on behalf the minor child after they say the child was subjected to sexual abuse by volunteer youth group leader Randy Castillo at Trinity Fellowship Church in Amarillo.
The firm states in a release that Castillo was referred to as “Pastor Randy” and lives in Winkler County. The lawsuit alleges Castillo utilized his position to interact with young female church attendees.
“Castillo not only made inappropriate communication with the minor child but sexually molested the minor on numerous occasions,” the release stated.
The Plaintiff’s petition accuses Castillo of sexually molesting the unnamed victim multiple times. The lawsuit seeks $50 million in damages from the church and Castillo, who are both named as parties.
“Defendant Castillo sexually abused and took advantage of Plaintiff Doe for more than two years, including specific instances of molestation on his twenty-sixth and twenty-seventh birthdays,” the petition reads.
The law firm said Trinity Church was informed of the inappropriate relationships with children Castillo met through the church but never alerted authorities or parents.
CBS 7 reached out to Trinity Church in Amarillo but has not yet heard back.
“We sued Trinity Church because we have learned that the church had information about Pastor Randy asking junior-high-aged girls for nude pictures. The church failed to report that fact to any authorities or the parents of these children. The church instead allowed Pastor Randy to continue to participate in church activities. As a direct result of the church’s neglect, Pastor Randy was able to continue sexually assaulting my minor female client for months. The abuse didn’t stop until the victim’s mom found suspicious texts on her daughter’s phone and confronted her. We believe this conduct was not isolated to our client and ask that anyone with additional information including other victims please come forward and contact us.”
CBS 7 has obtained court documents in Randall County which confirm Castillo was charged with aggravated sexual assault of a child in January 2015 stemming from incidents back in 2013. It is not yet clear where that case is in the judicial system.
CBS 7 has also learned that Castillo was indicted in January on two counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child and two counts of sexual assault of a child.
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UPDATE 3:30PM
Trinity Fellowship Church has released a statement following the attorney's release of information.
Trinity Fellowship said Castillo served as an occasional volunteer and was not employed by the church. He served on the volunteer team working with four-year-olds in the early childhood ministry and served at the 2014 summer camp for 1st through fourth graders.
Castillo underwent a required screening process to ensure he was not a registered sex offender. In August of 2014, a member of Trinity's pastoral staff confronted Castillo with concerns regarding a suggestion of improper contact with a teenage girl over SnapChat. Castillo denied the allegation and he was removed from volunteer service.
"Because there were no records to substantiate the allegations, the church took no further action," the release reads.
Pastoral staff say they cooperated with Amarillo Police in their later investigation.
To read the church's full statement,