S.A. woman gets 33 years for forced group sex with adopted daughter, who was used as surrogate mom

By Caleb Downs

A San Antonio woman accused of participating with her husband in repeated sexual assaults of their adopted daughter was sentenced to 33 years in prison.

Laura Castillo was arrested in San Juan, Texas, in June 2017. She pleaded guilty on Friday to three counts of aggravated sexual assault.

She and her husband, Eusebio Castillo, were accused of subjecting their adopted daughter and niece, Abigail Alvarado,  to 15 years of abuse, with the assaults eventually resulting in three children, who the Castillos raised to think Alvarado was their older sister and not their mother.

According to court records, the investigation into the couple began in 2014 when Alvarado informed police of the abuse, which she said began at the age of 9.

"I was very emotional for the justice I'm getting," Alvarado said of Laura Castillo's sentencing.

Eusebio Castillo is still awaiting trial and was last in court on June 15. Alvarado said prosecutors are looking to secure a plea deal in the case for 40 years in prison, but the case will likely go to trial.

Eusebio Castillo, previously a sergeant in the U.S. Army, was arrested in February 2017 on an aggravated sexual assault of a child in connection to the investigation. Alvarado has accused him of molestation, rape, assault and mental and emotional manipulation, at times threatening to kill himself and her family if she ever told authorities about the abuse.

"It's a stressful process," she said. "I knew it was going to take a long time, but with all the evidence against Eusebio, it's still on his terms. We have to wait for him to plead or go to trial."

Caleb Downs is a crime reporter for mySA.com. Read more of his stories here.| cdowns@mysa.com | Twitter: @calebjdowns