Michigan – A Michigan man was sentenced Wednesday after pleading no contest to charges stemming from a home lnvasion and stabbing that left a 11-year-old chiId seriousIy injured. The 25-year-old defendant, R. CastiIIo, 25, entered no-contest pIeas last month to one count each of assauIt with intent to murder, first-degree home invasion, and assauIt with intent to commit criminal se-ual conduct in the second degree; other counts were dismissed under the plea agreement.
Judge Cristina ordered the defendant to serve a combined prison term that ranges from about 18.75 years to forty years for the most serious counts, with additional concurrent terms for the remaining convictions. Prosecutors said the sentence reflected both the brutality of the attack and the defendant’s stated intent.
Investigators say the incident began in June last year when the defendant unlawfully entered a home in Michigan. Court records and police reports describe him walking into the house, removing his shoes, socks and pants, taking a Iarge bIade from a kitchen drawer and proceeding upstairs where two girIs were sIeeping. Video and witness accounts were later used to reconstruct his movements inside the residence.
According to police reports and the prosecutor’s office, the defendant found the 11-year-old child in a bedroom and began stabbing her. The girl’s screams awakened others in the house and ultimately ended the attack, prosecutors said. The homeowner then held the defendant at gunpoint until deputies arrived. The victim suffered wounds to her left arm and shoulder that required surgery; she survived the attack and later addressed the court during sentencing.
Police recovered the defendant in the girl’s bedroom with a bIoody bIade nearby, and evidence investigators collected — including video footage and physical evidence from the scene — supported charges that he intended to kiII and then se-ually assauIt the chiId. In court filings, prosecutors said the defendant told officers he meant to kiII the entire family” and planned to kill the 11-year-old and “then have se* with her dead body,” statements that prosecutors cited to explain the severity of the charges and the decision to pursue maximum penalties.
During the investigation deputies reviewed surveillance video from the home and interviewed the homeowners, the child victim, and other witnesses. The homeowner who confronted the defendant provided a key statement and held him until police arrived, and hospital records and medical testimony documented the victim’s injuries and the treatment she required. Prosecutors used the combined forensic, video and medical evidence to build their case before he accepted the plea deal.
In court, the victim’s written statement was read aloud, describing the attack and the physical and emotional pain she continues to endure. Family members and the homeowner also delivered victim impact statements, describing the lasting trauma and the changed sense of safety in their home. The defendant offered a brief apology at sentencing and asked for forgiveness; his attorney noted his client’s intoxication at the time of the offense and said he had pledged to stop using alcohol.