MANTECA, CA– An officer for the Manteca Police Department who was charged with perpetrating involuntary sexual acts against an intoxicated woman was granted bail last Friday, according to reporting from Recordnet.com.
The accused, Ryan Castro, was granted $300,000 bail in San Joaquin County Superior Court, a notable reduction from the $400,000 bail requested by his attorney Mary Ann Bird after his initial bail was set for $2 million.
According to Recordnet.com, Castro stands accused of “oral copulation of an intoxicated person, penetration by a foreign object on a victim who was drugged, and assault to commit mayhem, rape, sodomy, or oral copulation.”
Pursuant to the conditions of his bail, Castro is required to wear a GPS monitor and alcohol screening device, refrain from alcohol consumption, avoid contact with the victim, and comply with all laws. He is prohibited from leaving the state and must submit to an unlimited search waiver, according to Recordnet.com.
Bird filed a motion asking the court to either release Castro on his own recognizance/no bail or reduce his bail. However, Deputy District Attorney Victor Bachand opposed the request.
Bachand argued against reducing the accused’s bail, expressing doubt that Castro could comply with court orders. He also noted the victim had known Castro for about 13 years.
Prior to Judge John Soldati’s ruling on the bail matter, both the prosecution and defense recounted the events of the night the alleged assault took place.
Bachand stated the victim had gone over to Castro’s house on April 20, 2024, for a night of drinking in which she had consumed “massive amounts of alcohol.” The victim told the officer who took the report that “she had been out drinking with her cousin, her cousin’s husband—who was identified as Castro, and several others at the Main Street Inn in Ripon.
According to Recordnet.com, surveillance video revealed the victim was “clearly intoxicated (and) inebriated, having passed out at the bar. Bachand stated Castro carried the woman out of the bar since she was physically unable to walk out herself.
During the hearing, Bird argued the victim had consumed alcohol voluntarily and was not given any by Castro. Judge Soldati interjected, stating, “That doesn’t make a rape of an unconscious person OK.”
DDA Bachand stated that when Castro was interviewed by law enforcement, he denied any sexual contact with the victim and claimed there would be no DNA evidence connecting him to her.
However, Bachand stated, “testing by the Department of Justice showed Castor’s seminal fluid inside the victim’s underpants.”
According to Recordnet.com, Detective Nutt of the Ripon Police Department said that during a follow-up investigation into the victim’s claims, medical personnel informed him that no injuries were found in her genital area. The documents also noted that someone informed the nurse at the medical facility that the suspect was a Manteca police officer and expressed fear that he might discover she had filed a report.
Once Manteca Police were informed of the allegations, Castro was placed on administrative leave.
Castro surrendered himself to the San Joaquin County Jail April 7 after he was indicted. Defense attorney Bird stated, “What we have here is a man and a woman engaged in an illicit affair. He was trying to hide it from his wife and just because he wanted to hide it from his wife, does not mean that these events took place.”
According to Recordnet.com, Castro’s next hearing will take place May 21 at San Joaquin Superior Court in Stockton.
