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A Morgan Hill man who worked as a correctional officer at the Santa Clara County Jail was convicted Tuesday of helping inmates attack another inmate and then covering it up, the District Attorney’s Office said.
Francisco Izayas Castillo, 42, was convicted for his role in a jail house beating the took place four years ago. He was sentenced to 45 days in jail.
According to prosecutors, in September 2022, Castillo okayed the beating of an inmate ahead of time and gave rubber gloves to one of the attackers. He then opened the cell of the victim, watching the beating happen, and then covered the whole thing up. Castillo approved their actions, telling them to “handle it,” and then worked with them to keep it quiet after the fact.
Prosecutors outlined a disturbing story. Right before the beating, one of the attackers grabbed the rubber gloves from the guard’s desk and pointed at the victim’s cell. Castillo then used the control panel to open the cell and the attackers entered it and beat the man for about 30 seconds. The victim activated his emergency call button, which turns on a green light outside of the cell for a guard to see, as well as generating a series of pings. Castillo instead turned off the notification and the light. He also turned off his body-worn camera and never called for medical help for the victim.
It took another correctional officer during the next shift to discover the beating and launch an investigation.
“Correctional officers are sworn to protect the public and the inmates,” District Attorney Jeff Rosen said. “This officer betrayed the public, betrayed the inmates, and betrayed the badge.”
Castillo was fired and the attackers were convicted of the beating, the District Attorney’s Office said.
