Judge refuses to dismiss sex charges against ex-Victory Christian employee
BY JARREL WADE World Staff Writer
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
1/23/13 at 4:20 AM
A Tulsa judge denied a motion Tuesday to dismiss the charges against a former Victory Christian Center staff member who is accused of making a lewd or indecent proposal to a 14-year-old girl.
Israel Shalom Castillo has pleaded not guilty. The case may now go to a jury trial.
Tulsa County District Judge William Kellough postponed his arraignment until Feb. 1.
The charge involves a 14-year-old girl whom Castillo, 23, met through the church.
Castillo and Chris Denman, both Victory Christian Center members who worked as janitors for the church, were charged in September with separate child-sex crimes.
Denman, 20, pleaded guilty last year to six felony sex crimes against children, including the rape of a 13-year-old. He was sentenced to 55 years in prison and five years of probation.
Five Victory Christian staff members, including John and Charica Daugherty, a son and daughter-in-law of Senior Pastor Sharon Daugherty, have pleaded not guilty to misdemeanor charges of failing to report child abuse.
Other staff members accused of not reporting the alleged crime are Paul Howard Willemstein, Anna Alisa George and Harold Frank Sullivan.
On Tuesday, Castillo's attorney, Hugh Hood, argued for his motion to dismiss the charges, saying the state had not proved that Castillo "knowingly and intentionally" had communication with a person under the age of 16."
"You can't hold someone liable for breaking the law if they had no way of knowing if they were breaking the law," Hood said.
Kellough cited a previous hearing at which the girl was present and said the judge in that hearing noted that the 14-year-old girl appeared to him to look underage.
Original Print Headline: Judge won't dismiss charges
Jarrel Wade 918-581-8367
jarrel.wade@tulsaworld.com
Associated Images:
Israel Castillo leaves a Tulsa courtroom Tuesday after a judge refused to dismiss the charges against the former Victory Christian Center worker. STEPHEN PINGRY/Tulsa World
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