The Marine Corps recruiter who broke into two Rockford-area homes and brutally attacked an 11-year-old girl during a sleepover will spend decades in prison. Ricardo Perez Castillo entered no contest pleas to assault with intent to murder, first-degree home invasion and second-degree criminal sexual conduct. He was sentenced to 225 months to 40 years for the assault, seven to 20 years for home invasion, and one and a half to five years for CSC. He will also be required to register as a sex offender.
The crimes happened on June 15, 2024. Court documents say Castillo first entered a home on Oak Street, where the homeowner discovered him in the kitchen. Before walking out, Castillo warned the man “that he should always be armed.” Minutes later, he forced his way into a second house on Ella Terrace Court.
Around 3 a.m., the homeowner called police and reported someone inside his daughter’s room and that her friend had been cut. The father held Castillo at gunpoint until officers arrived. Detectives found him with a bloody knife at his side. Security video showed Castillo entering the home, removing his pants, shoes and socks, then taking a kitchen knife and heading upstairs. He later admitted he intended “to break into the house and kill the entire family.”
Police say Castillo opened several locked bedroom doors before targeting the room where two girls were sleeping. According to court papers, “Ricardo stated to detectives that he planned to kill [REDACTED] and then have sex with her dead body.” He climbed onto the girl and began stabbing her, stopping only when the girl’s screams woke the household.
During sentencing, the homeowners described the lasting fear and trauma. One father said, “This should not be taken lightly,” adding that his daughter remains terrified of another break-in. He also addressed criticism he received for not shooting Castillo, saying he believed doing so would have caused more harm.
The victim’s stepfather called the attack “an act of terrorism,” describing the profound emotional and physical wounds inflicted on the family. The young girl’s written statement, read in court, detailed her pain, embarrassment and nightmares. “I remember seeing all my blood everywhere… I was terrified,” she wrote. She asked the court for the maximum sentence.
Prosecutor Elizabeth Bartlett stressed the severity of the case, saying Castillo showed “a complete lack of remorse.” Detectives said he admitted he wanted to kill everyone in the home and told them, “I was going to try and kill the whole f*cking family.”
Castillo’s attorneys blamed extreme intoxication and argued he had overcome hardships. Castillo told the court he was “a lost person,” knelt on the courtroom floor and asked for forgiveness.
Judge Christina Mims called the attack a “real-life horror movie” and concluded that no sentence would ever feel sufficient to the victims. She declined to give the lowest possible punishment, noting Castillo’s age but emphasising the lifelong trauma he caused. Castillo received 530 days’ credit for time served and was escorted out after saying, “God bless everybody.”
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