A 26-year-old Oregon man has been arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting teens after investigators claimed that he had been preying on minors posing as a high school student on social media.
The Washington County Sheriff's office said the department's violent crimes unit has been investigating Lafayette A Castillo for the past two months.
Police inquiry revealed that Castillo allegedly used Snapchat and Instagram and talked to teens by posing as a high school student online. He then allegedly met the children and sexually assaulted them, according to a statement released by the sheriff's office.
Castillo was arrested on January 15 for alleged sex crimes involving two victims, aged 12 and 14. He was indicted by a grand jury on January 24 on crimes including rape, attempted rape, sexual abuse, and sodomy. Bail was set at $1.5 million.
While police identified multiple victims based on Castillo's social media activity, investigators believe he may have targeted more children. Officials have urged those who have information related to Castillo and other victims to approach authorities.
Third woman alleges sexual harassment
In an unrelated development, a third woman came forward on Sunday alleging a Michigan state legislator accused of several misconducts had sexually harassed her at a government event last year.
Republican State Senator Peter Lucido was accused of commenting on Melissa Osborn's appearance and clothes and touching her "lower back/upper butt", according to Crain Detroit Business quoting Osborn on Sunday. The 40-year-old who works as a regulatory affairs specialist for a trade group alleged the incident took place at the Michigan Credit Union League's annual government affairs conference in May.
Osborn's statement came a week after Democratic senator Mallory McMorrow of Royal Oak filed a sexual misconduct complaint against Lucido. She alleged that Lucido put his hands on her lower back region and insinuated that she won the November 2018 election because of her looks as she introduced herself at a training session held two days after her win.
Details about Lucido's alleged crimes were first reported earlier this month after the Senate Business Office published an investigative report based on a 22-year-old female journalist's report. The journalist, Allison Donahue, working for Michigan Advance, reportedly said he told her that students from an all-boys Catholic school visiting the Capitol could "have a lot of fun" with her.
Lucido had earlier stated that it was a "misunderstanding" with Donahue and issued an apology. However, he has denied McMorrow's allegations and refused to comment on the recent claims made against him.
