GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — The man accused of breaking into a Rockford-area home and then stabbing an 11-year-old girl was sentenced Wednesday morning.
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Ricardo Castillo took a plea deal in the case back in October.
The 25-year-old broke into a home on Ella Terrace Court on June 15, 2024, took a knife from the kitchen, and then attacked a girl who was sleeping over in the home.
The girl's screams woke up the parents in the home and caused Castillo to end his attack, according to police.
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DOCS: Man charged in Rockford-area stabbing wanted to kill everyone
Minutes later, the homeowner called 91,1 saying he was holding a man at gunpoint.
Originally charged with Assault with Intent to Murder, 1st Degree Home Invasion, Assault with Intent to Sexually Assault, and Carrying a Dangerous Weapon with Unlawful Intent, Castillo pleaded no contest to the Assault with Intent to Murder, 1st Degree Home Invasion, and a reduced charge of 2nd Degree Criminal Sexual Conduct. In return, the prosecutor's office dropped the other charges.
During Wednesday's sentencing hearing, the father of the 11-year-old and the homeowner both gave victim impact statements. The prosecutor also read a statement from the 11-year-old.
FOX 17 chose to not identify either man or the girl out of respect for their privacy.
"My daughter is suffering still every day," said the homeowner. "She worries about somebody coming into her house."
WATCH: Homeowner addresses court
"We've heard what he has wanted to do to our family," continued the homeowner. "What he wanted to do to my daughter and daughter's friend. And that's just not OK. This should not be taken lightly. I'm pleading with you just to make an example out of this. I'm just pleading with you."
"What happened to her, unimaginable to the point that it almost didn't seem real until you live with it and experience it and see it and taste it and smell it, and the true horror that comes from it," said the 11-year-old's step-father.
WATCH: Step-father of stabbing victim speaks
"It really hit me is she took off her jacket and was working out, and you could see the puncture wounds in her neck right here, missed her carotid artery," continued the victim's step-father. "That's somebody who's trained, trying to kill, not somebody who's just intoxicated."
"God willing, someday she gets married, she walks down the aisle and has a beautiful dress on and you see all these wounds and these questions and different things and it's not about what it looks like, it's about what happened," said the step-father. "The act of terrorism isn't just the stabbing and the ill will towards another life. It's to me more the intent of trying to take something so precious, the intimacy from a child, and a family, and everything that comes with it."
In her letter to the court, the 11-year-old said the attack impacted her life every day after it.
"I couldn't lift my armor even do a sit-up in gym. In class, I felt embarrassed," wrote the girl. "I knew my friends knew what happened to me. It was on the news. My teachers knew and even my principal. Kids in younger grades and my classmates, these people, knowing that I was stabbed really affected me."
WATCH: Message from 11-year-old stabbing victim
"This crime has affected me mentally too. I go to counseling and talk about what happened to me," continued the girl. "I had bad visions of looking out my bedroom window and seeing a man running towards me with a knife, wanting to hurt me."
"I do not want this to happen to another girl. I don't want anyone else to go through what I did and have gone through. Please keep this man in prison," pleaded the girl through her letter.
After them, Castillo addressed the court, at one point turning around to face the victim's family, fell to his knees, pleading for forgiveness.
"From the bottom of my heart, I ask for forgiveness," Castillo requested to the people sitting in the courtroom. "I know I don't deserve it. I can't imagine all the nightmares."
WATCH: Ricardo Castillo begs for forgiveness
"I was a lost person, and I have found God," continued Castillo. "It made me realize how much I'm truly am lost. I ask for forgiveness from all of you, from both families. For the whole community of Rockford, I ask for forgiveness."
Judge Christina Mims ordered Castillo to serve from 18 to 40 years in prison. He'll also have to register as a sex offender.
WATCH: Stabbing suspect wanted to kill everyone inside Rockford-area home
A previous version of this story stated the minimum sentence was 18 months, instead of the actual 18 years.
