Kenosha Man Found Not Guilty in Second-Degree Sexual Assault Case

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Jose E. Castillo-Samayoa (26) of Kenosha
(Kenosha County Sheriff)

Kenosha, Wis. – A 26-year-old Kenosha man, Jose E. Castillo-Samayoa, was found not guilty of Second-Degree Sexual Assault this morning after a two-day trial. The jury unanimously determined that the State failed to meet the burden of proof required for a conviction after a short deliboration.

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Attorney Terry Rose, representing Castillo-Samayoa, told KCE that the defense’s argument was straightforward: the encounter was consensual. The case took a dramatic turn when two friends of the alleged victim testified that he had admitted to fabricating the allegations in pursuit of a U Visa, a special visa granted to victims of certain crimes who are illegal immigrants, allowing them to remain in the United States.

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The case was originally prosecuted by former Assistant District Attorney Alexandra Smathers (D), working under then-District Attorney Michael Graveley (D).

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Allegations and Investigation

According to the criminal complaint, the incident was reported to the Kenosha Police Department on May 20, 2023. Officer Vega met with the accuser, identified as RC, who appeared visibly upset and anxious while recounting the events of the previous night.

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RC alleged that on the night of May 19, 2023, he and Castillo-Samayoa had been drinking at El Rodeo Bar in Kenosha before returning to Castillo-Samayoa’s home. RC claimed he decided to sleep on the sofa bed instead of driving home. Around 3:00 AM, he alleged that he woke up to Castillo-Samayoa forcibly mounting him and engaging in non-consensual sexual activity.

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During the investigation, RC provided text messages from Castillo-Samayoa as evidence. One message in Spanish read, “I woke up and I saw the disaster, my friend. I crossed the line. I’m sorry. I’ll understand if you don’t want to talk to me anymore. Sorry I got my wires crossed.”

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Authorities later retrieved a shirt allegedly discarded by RC, which reportedly contained physical evidence supporting his claims. However, the defense maintained that the relationship was consensual, a position Castillo-Samayoa held throughout police interviews.

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Testimony and Verdict

The trial’s pivotal moment came when two friends of RC testified that he had admitted to fabricating the allegations to secure a U Visa. This testimony cast significant doubt on the prosecution’s case and ultimately swayed the jury’s decision.

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After hearing all arguments, the jury deliberated and returned a unanimous verdict of not guilty.

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34 Responses

  1. I’ve never participated in anal play, but is this even possible? I would imagine the catcher “victim” in this scenario would need to be lubed up and assist with the sexual encounter.

    Nonetheless, deport both their asses back to their homeland.

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  2. I hate to be a killjoy, but the new DA gets the blame for taking this to trial. Granted, Graveley and his people issued the charges. But the new DA and his people decided to go to the mat on this.

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    1. It is important to remember that Assistant District Attorneys rely heavily on their paralegals and victim witness specialists, whose recent performance has been subpar. Therefore, it is unjust to place blame solely on the ADAs. Additionally, there is an investigator whose contributions appear limited to purchasing donuts and being the spouse of the victim and witnesses manager, raising questions about his effectiveness. Despite being recently authorized by Mr. Solis to carry weapons while on duty, the outcomes of his ‘investigations’ have demonstrated negligible utility.
      If the new District Attorney is earnest in fulfilling his campaign promises, he must take decisive action to address inefficiencies and remove ineffective personnel.

      1. Exactly. This should not be seen as a loss for the district attorney’s office. Prosecutor’s typically assume any case sent to them by law enforcement has merit. However, it is unfortunate that law enforcement tends to only have access to one side of the story in a case like this and end up pressing charges against those who were falsely accused of a crime.

        False criminal reports are a gross waste of time and resources for the entire criminal justice system and destroy the lives of those falsely accused of a crime.

        Everyone involved in this case has been victimized by the person making false allegations. The district attorney’s office didn’t lose this case as much as they were another victim of the plaintiff’s lie.

        False allegations of rape are horribly minimizing to actual victims of sexual assault and less than 8 percent of false accusers are ever charged with a crime.

        1. It is imperative to address the prosecution of individuals who make false accusations. I hope your staff will enable you to proceed appropriately in this matter. This concern extends beyond the current case and includes the situations of others, such as the Martel kid. The latter was unjustly incarcerated for several months due to fabricated allegations, not only by the U visa applicant but also by the ineffective team of paralegals and inadequately trained victim support staff who assisted Smuckers.

  3. Even if the victim’s friends had not come forward, was there any actual evidence it happened in the first place aside from the accusation?

    Xavier Solis needs to do better on this. This is the fourth “not guilty” in as many months on these kinds of cases. It’s a waste of the taxpayer’s time and money. Clean the slate on weak cases like this. Half of the county prosecutors just left but we’re still spending all this time on he-said-she-said situations.

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    1. The ADA was not even ready to proceed on Monday morning, which did not make the judge happy. This entire case was a huge lie, a big circus.

      1. Any cases like this started by Smathers and her ilk probably need to be scrutinized and dropped if necessary. The county doesn’t have the bandwidth to go on wild goose chases.

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      1. Plain and simple, the DA needs a mini DOGE to help him get rid of those running the show from the shadows. In the office, everyone’s voice carries more weight than the Prosecutor’s 🙁

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  4. How about pressing charges for reporting false allegations, Mr. Prosecutor? This U visa seeker made us waste a lot of money that could be better used to hire non-pedophile teachers, for example. This U visa seeker should be reported to ICE.

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  5. Mr. Prosecutor, it is imperative that you maintain a thorough understanding of the activities within your office. Nearly two months have passed, and the situation is not progressing favorably. We support you and urge you to cease expending resources on efforts that may unjustly incarcerate innocent individuals. If this situation was initiated by Carli & wife, you now have the authority to bring it to a halt. Additionally, please assign someone with experience to handle a case as serious as this.

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    1. That’s so sad how bad these people want the visa to stay here… They should take that way and get the visa the right way not by making stories up

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  6. It would also help if we didn’t have ridiculous visa laws like that, just one more stupid thing after another to encourage illegal immigration. Don’t ever forget which party thinks votes should be bought with humans

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  7. First of all why did Vega interview as opposed to a detective? The apparent answer is both speak Spanish. Get some dual language detectives! Second, how much influence did the victim witness people have in this case ? They are zealots!

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