A Santa Clara County correctional officer will spend more than a month behind bars after helping two inmates carry out a jailhouse attack against another inmate, then conspiring with them to cover it up, according to authorities.
Francisco Izayas Castillo, 42, of Morgan Hill was sentenced Tuesday to 45 days in jail after he was convicted of a misdemeanor in March for his role in the incident.
Prosecutors said Castillo knew about and authorized the September 2022 attack by opening the victim’s cell, and then watched from afar as the beating took place.
“Correctional officers are sworn to protect the public and the inmates,” Santa Clara County Dist. Atty. Jeff Rosen said. “This officer betrayed the public, betrayed the inmates, and betrayed the badge. My office will hold corrupt correctional officers to account for their behavior.”
Prosecutors said that on the day of the attack, two inmates approached Castillo and told him they intended to beat up another inmate. Castillo, they said, approved the attack and told the pair to “handle it.”
Moments before the incident, one of the attackers took rubber gloves from Castillo’s desk and pointed in the direction of the victim’s cell. Castillo then used the control panel to open the cell. One of the attackers then yanked the door open, after which he and another inmate punched and kicked the victim, according to prosecutors.
Prosecutors said the victim pressed his cell’s emergency call button, which turned on a green light outside his door and sent a series of pings to notify the guard on duty in the living area. They said Castillo silenced the notification and turned off the victim’s emergency light.
After the attack, Castillo approached the victim, who asked for his help. Castillo, prosecutors said, did not turn on his body-worn camera so as not to have a record of the conversation, and didn’t request medical aid or report the attack.
“Instead, he met with the attackers to concoct a plan to keep word of the attack from getting out,” prosecutors said in a news release.
Once an investigation was launched, Castillo fired the two attackers from their roles as jail trustees — a label for low-risk inmates who are given special privileges in exchange for performing certain jobs such as cooking, cleaning and maintenance.
Castillo himself was fired when investigators learned of his role. The two attackers and another inmate who stood guard were charged and convicted.
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