Camacho disqualifies himself from presiding over sex offender’s case

Superior Court Associate Judge Joseph N. Camacho has disqualified himself from presiding over the case of a sex offender who is facing charges for failure to update the Department of Public Safety Sex Offender Registry Section about his verification information and for having contact with minor children.

In his order on Friday granting defendant Ivan Jones Castro’s motion to disqualify or recuse, Camacho said he was the then-attorney for Castro’s co-defendant in a prior criminal case.

Camacho said as then-counsel for Castro’s co-defendant, he may have been privy to information about Castro that were not brought to light in trial or in a meaningful proceeding about the facts of the case.

In such circumstance, Camacho said where Castro is brought before the judge’s court—years later—the law requires the fact-finder to determine whether disqualification is truly necessary.

“The very judge subject to disqualification may not preside over the evidentiary hearing—whether there is merit to the claim or not,” Camacho said.

The judge said Castro’s motion to disqualify him is granted pursuant to a section of the Commonwealth Judicial Reorganization Act to avoid the appearance of impropriety.

With Camacho’s disqualification, Castro’s request for an evidentiary hearing is now moot.

In Castro’s motion to recuse, assistant public defender Tillman Clark disclosed that Camacho, as a then-practicing attorney, represented Angel Santos, a co-defendant to Castro in a prior criminal case.

Clark said Santos took a position, which placed him in an adverse position to Castro by agreeing to testify against Castro.

“As such, Camacho was placed in a position as an attorney where it would be required to gather information and attack the background, character, and acts of Mr. Castro for the purposes of defending Mr. Santos,” Clark said.

The defense lawyer said if the court denies their motion to recuse on its face, they alternatively request an evidentiary hearing on the matter.

In granting the motion, Camacho noted that the allegations raised by Castro, taken alone, do not support disqualification.

Camacho said to preserve the integrity of the judicial system and to avoid any appearance of impropriety, the law requires him to recuse or disqualify himself from this case.

In the footnote of his order, Camacho noted that his then-client, Santos, was the only defendant who pleaded guilty in the prior case.

Camacho said at the time, the Office of the Attorney General dismissed without prejudice the charges against Castro and the other co-defendants.

As of the filing of this order or after six years, Camacho said the OAG has not re-filed the charges against Castro and two others.

The prior case was about the kidnapping of a student in Kagman on June 15, 2010, and raping her at Tank Beach. Castro and Santos were four men charged.

Santos and his then-counsel Camacho signed a plea deal with the government. Santos pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit sexual assault in the first degree.

In June 2011, Superior Court Associate Judge David A. Wiseman sentenced Santos to 15 years in prison.

According to Santos, he only served as a lookout as it was his co-defendants Castro, Joseph Camacho Jr., and Alfred P. Hocog who abducted and then raped the victim.

In December 2010, Wiseman dismissed without prejudice the charges against Castro, Joseph Camacho Jr., and Hocog, at the request of the OAG, after the results of a DNA test turned up inconclusive.