Commonwealth v. Wilfrido Castillo.

CourtMassachusetts Appeals Court
DecidedMarch 21, 2025
Docket23-P-0841
StatusUnpublished

This text of Commonwealth v. Wilfrido Castillo. (Commonwealth v. Wilfrido Castillo.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Massachusetts Appeals Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Commonwealth v. Wilfrido Castillo., (Mass. Ct. App. 2025).

Opinion

NOTICE: Summary decisions issued by the Appeals Court pursuant to M.A.C. Rule 23.0, as appearing in 97 Mass. App. Ct. 1017 (2020) (formerly known as rule 1:28, as amended by 73 Mass. App. Ct. 1001 [2009]), are primarily directed to the parties and, therefore, may not fully address the facts of the case or the panel's decisional rationale. Moreover, such decisions are not circulated to the entire court and, therefore, represent only the views of the panel that decided the case. A summary decision pursuant to rule 23.0 or rule 1:28 issued after February 25, 2008, may be cited for its persuasive value but, because of the limitations noted above, not as binding precedent. See Chace v. Curran, 71 Mass. App. Ct. 258, 260 n.4 (2008).

COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS

APPEALS COURT

23-P-841

COMMONWEALTH

vs.

WILFRIDO CASTILLO.

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER PURSUANT TO RULE 23.0

Following a jury trial in the District Court, the

defendant, Wilfrido Castillo, was convicted of enticement of a

child under sixteen (child enticement).1 On appeal, he contends

that (1) the evidence was insufficient to support his

conviction, (2) the jury instructions on child enticement were

erroneous and created a substantial risk of a miscarriage of

justice, (3) the verdict slip failed to reflect the elements of

child enticement, (4) the judge erroneously admitted duplicate

1The defendant was also charged with witness intimidation, unauthorized access to a computer system, and indecent assault and battery on a child under fourteen. The judge dismissed the count of unauthorized access to a computer system at the request of the Commonwealth. The jury found the defendant not guilty of witness intimidation and indecent assault and battery on a child under fourteen. first complaint testimony, and (5) the prosecutor's opening

statement, questioning of witnesses, and closing argument

contained errors that created a substantial risk of a

miscarriage of justice. Because we agree with the defendant

that the judge's instructions were incomplete, we vacate the

defendant's conviction.

Background. The victim became friends with the defendant's

stepdaughter2 in the summer of 2013. A few weeks after the

victim and the defendant's stepdaughter began "hanging out," the

victim met the defendant. The victim was thirteen years old at

the time.3 The defendant often drove the victim and his

stepdaughter places and watched movies with them at his house.

On August 31, 2013, the victim and the stepdaughter spent

the day together and returned to the stepdaughter's house. At

approximately midnight, the defendant, the victim, the

stepdaughter, and the stepdaughter's boyfriend were watching a

movie in the living room. At that time, the victim received a

text message from an unfamiliar number. The person who sent the

2 The defendant was the "boyfriend" of the victim's friend's mother. However, throughout trial the victim referred to the defendant as her friend's "stepdad" or "stepfather." Likewise, the victim's friend referred to the defendant as her "stepdad," and the defendant characterizes the victim's friend as his "stepdaughter" in his appellate brief.

3 The victim turned fourteen shortly before trial.

2 text identified himself as the defendant.4 The defendant sent

the victim text messages stating that he "liked" her, that he

thought she was "pretty," and that he thought she liked him

because she was "always looking at him." He also sent the

victim a message asking her to "meet him in the bathroom." At

some point, the defendant sent the victim a message asking her

to delete the texts, and when she replied that she did, he

"texted [her] back, I don't believe you." Later in the text

exchange, the defendant wrote, "I'm sorry" and called the victim

a "good girl."

After they exchanged messages, the defendant moved toward

the bottom of the couch where the victim was sitting and sat on

the ground in front of her. He turned towards her, asked to see

her phone, and "took it out of [her] hands." The victim

"snatched" her phone back from him. A few minutes later, the

defendant stood up, "looked directly in [the victim's] eyes,"

and rubbed his hand up her thigh. The rubbing "started by" the

victim's knee and "then it went up." The victim was "wicked

scared," "shaking," "panicking" and "really freaking out," but

"kind of like stayed still." She began texting and calling

members of her family, including her aunt, trying to find

4 The defendant had the victim's "telephone number," and had called her at that number in the past to reach his stepdaughter.

3 someone to pick her up from the stepdaughter's house, but was

unable to reach them. "[F]inally," the victim was able to reach

her cousin, and "told her that she needs to come get me," as the

victim believed that she was "not safe." The victim then walked

into the stepdaughter's bedroom to retrieve her belongings. The

defendant followed her into the bedroom. After the victim

fabricated an excuse to explain why she was leaving, the

defendant apologized to her and told her that she was a "good

girl." The victim left the house, saw her aunt's vehicle, and

ran to it.

Discussion. 1. Sufficiency of the evidence. We review

the sufficiency of the evidence to determine "whether, after

viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the

[Commonwealth], any rational trier of fact could have found the

essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt"

(emphasis and citation omitted). Commonwealth v. Latimore, 378

Mass. 671, 677 (1979). "If, from the evidence, conflicting

inferences are possible, it is for the [factfinder] to determine

where the truth lies, for the weight and credibility of the

evidence is wholly within [its] province." Commonwealth v. Lao,

443 Mass. 770, 779 (2005), S.C., 450 Mass. 215 (2007) and 460

Mass. 12 (2011). In addition, "[c]ircumstantial evidence is

competent to establish guilt beyond a reasonable doubt . . . and

the reasonable inferences drawn from such evidence need not be

4 necessary or inescapable, only reasonable and possible"

(quotations and citations omitted). Commonwealth v. MacCormack,

491 Mass. 848, 854 (2023).

"The crime of child enticement has four elements: (1) 'Any

one who entices,' (2) 'a child under the age of 16, or someone

he believes to be a child under the age of 16,' (3) 'to enter,

exit or remain within any vehicle, dwelling, building, or other

outdoor space,' (4) 'with the intent that he or another person

will violate [one of several enumerated statutes] . . . or any

offense that has as an element the use or attempted use of

force.'" Commonwealth v. LaPlante, 73 Mass. App. Ct. 199, 202

(2008), quoting G. L. c. 265, § 26C. In the present case, the

Commonwealth proceeded on a theory that the defendant enticed

the victim intending to commit indecent assault and battery on a

child under fourteen, in violation of G. L. c. 265, § 13B, one

of the statutes enumerated in the child enticement statute,

G. L. c. 265, § 26C.

The defendant first contends that the Commonwealth failed

to prove that he intended to commit a crime against a person he

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Commonwealth v. Wilfrido Castillo., Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/commonwealth-v-wilfrido-castillo-massappct-2025.