Disturbed Suspect Arrested Again for Serial Beastiality with Horses

MCALLEN, TX – Hidalgo's notorious horse lover is back in the news after he was once again booked into the Hidalgo County Jail for beastiality.

According to HCJ booking records, Cirilo Castillo is back in the jail after being arrested by agents with the Southwest Cattle Raiser Association. This entity was founded in 1877 by 40 cattlemen who wanted to end unbridled livestock theft. Today, the association has grown to offer a number of services; however, preventing and investigating agricultural theft still remain a large part of TSCRA. 

In this case the TSCRA was investigating the on-going sexual assault of animals in Hidalgo county.

Castillo has been known to sexually assault horses since 2012. In one local report, former Hidalgo sheriff bet that the crimes wouldn't stop until you put him away.

“He is going to continue to do this,” Trevino said. “The people there in the neighborhood are just sick and tired of it, we just need to do something with this.”

Nothing serious has been done until now. This is because not only did a horse get hurt but the mare's pony as well. According to the sheriff's office, in Mar. 2022, Castillo was caught on surveillance camera laying on the barn floor.

When the owners got to the stables they found a masked individual standing on a chair with his pants down towards the back end of the pregnant mare.

The crime was taken more seriously after the pony was born with birth defects. The condition of the mare is unknown at this time.

Castillo is charged with beastiality. Beastiality is committed when a person knowingly engages in sexual acts with an animal. This can involve mouth, genital or anal contact with the mouth, genitals or anus of an animal. The rule also applies to the use of objects in a sexual matter. Lawful veterinary practice and animal husbandry are the only exemptions.

Under the law, a person also can’t engage in observance of beastiality, advertise such events or cause a person to engage in these acts. If found guilty, it’s a state jail felony unless the animal is seriously injured or dies. That’s when the act becomes a second-degree felony.

It is unknown the degree of the charges Castillo will face at this time.