A Tri-Cities man who had been out of jail on personal recognizance on a child rape charge was arrested again in Pasco, accused of raping a teen girl.
Gerardo Delatorre Castillo, 25, of Pasco, appeared in Franklin County Superior Court on Thursday on investigation of the new crime.
Prosecutors told Judge Sam Swanberg that despite being ordered to stay away from minors and not to use the internet or social media, Castillo allegedly met another child online and raped her.
He is being held in the Franklin County jail in lieu of $250,000 bail on suspicion of third-degree rape of a child, sexual exploitation of a child and first-degree possession of depictions of a child engaged in sexually explicit conduct.
He is still awaiting trial in Benton County on a March charge of second-degree child rape. That crime allegedly happened in August 2020 and is a statutory rape case, according to court documents. The trial for that case is set for October.
Court documents show that in the Franklin County case Castillo allegedly was using the nickname "Mr. Happy" online to meet underage girls. The victim was 14 at the time.
Investigators first learned of the situation after her brother went to police on June 30 because the victim had asked him to take her to Planned Parenthood because she was worried she might be pregnant. The brother believed the victim had been sneaking out at night to meet Castillo. she had told her brother was 21.
Castillo had been using Snapchat to communicate with the teen, according to court documents. The victim told detectives that Castillo had been giving her marijuana during their encounters.
They did not have any friends in common and was a stranger to the girl when he first contacted her, according to the documents. Castillo initially told her he was 19 and she informed him that she was 15. The victim told police that if she did not respond on one social media platform, he would move on to others and continue trying to contact her.
He allegedly met the girl in January when she was 14 and continued meeting up with her through May, after she had turned 15.
Castillo was arrested in March on the Benton County rape charge, and allegedly met with the victim for sex at least once after his arrest, according to court documents.
Their first encounter came after Castillo offered the girl marijuana. They met up at a store near her house. She told investigators she was scared of him because he looked older than 19.
He then convinced her to get into his car and took her to a second location. She told detectives she remembered going over a bridge, but Castillo had allegedly told her to close her eyes.
The victim said Castillo always told her to close her eyes, and believes he took different routes each time. They allegedly smoked marijuana in a different vehicle at the mobile home he took her to. She told detectives that the first time this happened she became so high she passed out and he carried her to his bed inside the trailer.
She also told investigators she recalled seeing a black box with a red light on. When she asked Castillo about it, he allegedly told her, "sometimes I just like to take some pictures and videos." He also took sexual photos and videos of the victim with his phone.
The victim told investigators that she was afraid of Castillo because he was much stronger than her.
When Pasco police went to arrest Castillo at his Pasco home, his mother asked what was happening and asked officers if it "was for the other case." He told his mother it was.
While waiting to be taken to the Franklin County jail, Castillo allegedly told his mother that he just wanted to leave and go to Mexico.
After he was taken to jail, a search warrant was executed at the home. Castillo's room matched descriptions the victim had given investigators.
The black box the victim described was a GoPro camera found in the room, said court documents. A box for a micro hidden camera also was found in the room, but there was no camera.
Castillo is expected back in court next week.
