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

Copied!
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.

Paid Advertisement

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.

Paid Advertisement

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

Paid Advertisement

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.

Paid Advertisement

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.

Paid Advertisement

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.”

Paid Advertisement

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.

Paid Advertisement

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.

Paid Advertisement

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

Author

Copied!
LATEST NEWS

The Racine County Bar Association Announces the Results of its Judicial Qualification Poll

Members of the Racine County Bar Association were asked to vote on the qualifications of the candidates for the upcoming elections for Racine County Circuit Court Judge Branch 7. The following poll was sent to current members of the RCBA: Please vote for the individual that you believe is most qualified based upon your personal knowledge, investigation, or experience: a) Jon Fredricksonb) Jamie McClendonc) Both equally qualified The results of the poll were tabulated by the

Read More »

Legend Lake Property Owners Association Files Lawsuit Against Menominee County Over Alleged Tax Discrimination

Menominee County, Wis. – A property owners’ association representing hundreds of landowners at Legend Lake has filed a lawsuit against Menominee County, the Town of Menominee, and the Menominee Indian School District (MISD), alleging that their members have been unfairly burdened with excessive property taxes while other similarly classified properties remain tax-exempt. The lawsuit, filed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, claims that the tax policies of Menominee County have

Read More »
MORE TOP STORIES

Kenosha Woman Charged with First-Degree Attempted Murder Following Brutal Attack

Kenosha, Wis. – A Kenosha woman has been charged with first-degree attempted murder following a brutal attack on her roommate in the early hours of March 17, 2025. Jessica D. Lentz, 46, faces additional charges, including battery and disorderly conduct, each accompanied by three enhancers: repeater, use of a dangerous weapon, and domestic abuse. If convicted, Lentz could face more than 70 years in prison. During her initial court appearance, Lentz exhibited erratic behavior, screaming long before

Read More »

Meadows for the Prairie: Opinion

Pleasant Prairie has an interesting quirk among its residents. Each time a local election comes around, I find my neighbors begin speaking and asking questions in hushed tones.  They’re perfectly normal questions, such as “have you looked at who’s running for the Village Board?” or “did your property taxes go up this year?” I’ve always found it odd that such things are discussed over backyard fences with frequent glances to the side. My family moved to

Read More »

Kenosha Woman Arrested After Alleged Sledgehammer Attack on Roommate

Kenosha, Wis. – A violent attack early Monday morning has left a woman hospitalized and a repeat offender back in police custody. Early Monday morning, Kenosha police responded to a 911 call from the area of 54th Street and 14th Avenue, where reports indicated that a woman had attacked her roommate with a sledgehammer. Upon arrival, emergency responders transported the victim to a nearby hospital, and is expected to survive After a brief manhunt, authorities located

Read More »

Monday Morning Fire Displaces Southwire Workers

Dozens of employees of Southwire were displaced early this morning just after 7:30 a.m. Pleasant Prairie Fire received a fire alarm call and an employee called in reporting smoke on the second floor. When the fire department arrived, they called for a (Mutual Aid Box Alarm System) MABAS. This prompted fire departments from all over Kenosha and Lake County, IL to respond with equipment. The fire appeared to be under control very quickly after the fire

Read More »

Community Rallies Behind Tremper High Student Battling Hodgkin’s Lymphoma

Kenosha, Wis. – The Kenosha community is coming together to support Zane, a 16-year-old sophomore at Tremper High School, after he was recently diagnosed with Stage 3B Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. A GoFundMe campaign has been launched to assist his family as he undergoes treatment. Zane’s journey began unexpectedly on February 25, when he, his father, and his sister were involved in a minor car accident. Just days later, he began experiencing severe chest and shoulder pain, leading

Read More »

Kenosha Police Investigate After Two Found Dead in SUV on Kenosha’s North Side

Kenosha, Wis. – Kenosha Police are investigating after two people were found deceased inside a vehicle on the city’s north side Friday morning. Around 9:30 a.m., officers alerted dispatch to a suspicious vehicle in the 1000 block of 48th Street. The vehicle, a silver or grey Ford Explorer, was later found to contain two deceased individuals. Radio traffic indicated that an officer on the scene requested a supervisor and the medical examiner, signaling a serious incident.

Read More »

Kenosha Woman Arrested After Altercation and Resisting Police

Somers, Wis. – A 42-year-old woman from Somers, Nicole M. Lehman, is being released today after her arrest earlier this morning. Lehman faces charges of Resisting an Officer and Disorderly Conduct after a disturbance at her home. In court this afternoon, she was granted a no-cash bail and pleaded not guilty. Lehman will return to court for a hearing on April 4, 2025. If convicted, she could face up to a year in jail and a

Read More »

Indian Trail High School Receptionist Resigns Amid Misconduct Investigation

A receptionist at Indian Trail High School & Academy has resigned her position as of March 7, 2025. Danielle Nixon was allegedly under investigation by the Kenosha Unified School District for misconduct. According to a source familiar with the matter, Nixon was accused of modifying attendance records for varsity boys’ basketball players to to circumvent Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association (WIAA) eligibility rules. KCE has requested the investigative files and will report back when the exact details

Read More »

Alleged Drug-Dealing Teacher To Return to Classroom At Washington Middle School Monday

Kenosha, Wis. – A group of parents at Washington Middle School within the Kenosha Unified School District (KUSD) are voicing their outrage after learning that one of their children’s teachers, Alyssa L. Jurasik, 24, has a criminal record involving drug-related offenses. Despite being placed on paid administrative leave on February 21, 2025, following inquiries by Kenosha County Eye (KCE), Jurasik is set to return to the classroom on Monday, March 17, 2025—fueling even greater frustration among

Read More »

Kenosha Unified School District Employee Fired Following Allegations of Physical Misconduct with Student: Video

Kenosha, Wis. – A Kenosha Unified School District (KUSD) employee has been terminated following an investigation into alleged inappropriate physical interactions with a student at Chavez Learning Station. Makaella Toney, a Head Start employee, was placed on administrative leave on November 4, 2024, and officially terminated on November 21, 2024, after a review of surveillance footage and witness statements. Incident Overview The incident in question occurred on October 31, 2024, when Toney was bringing a class

Read More »
Categories
Archives
Authors

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.

    8
    6
  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.

    7
    28
    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.

    8
    4
    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.

        7
        1
      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 🙁

        1
        1
  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.

    12
    1
  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.

    5
    3
    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

      1
      1
  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

    9
    1
  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!

Add a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Categories
Archives
Authors

Subscribe to updates

Get notified of new articles. We'll never share your email address.