PORT ALLEN, LA (WAFB) – Louisiana State Police says it is not investigating West Baton Rouge Sheriff Mike Cazes.
The development comes as the FBI considers investigating after a report from the 9News Investigators showed an undocumented immigrant, serving time for a sex crime against a 13-year-old girl, was working unsupervised at Cazes’ home.
“We are aware of the information provided in [WAFB’s] story and will take that into consideration,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Eric Rommal. “There’s just not enough information to know exactly what has occurred, if anything. In fairness to everyone involved, it’s just the preliminary story is enough to garner interest.”
The preliminary story Agent Rommal is referencing consists of Cazes saying he was using a parish van to “haul some furniture.” In a conversation with WAFB Lead Investigative Reporter Kiran Chawla, Cazes explained the inmate’s presence at his home by saying he hired him to do work at his home in Port Allen and was personally paying him for the work.
The inmate, Elmer Castillo, 32, was accused of having sex with a 13-year-old girl inside her Baton Rouge home, according to the arrest warrant. The victim told police Castillo pulled her underwear down and penetrated her, the warrant says.
When Castillo was confronted about the allegations in 2014, he fled and was not arrested until three years later. An East Baton Rouge Parish jury convicted him of sexual battery in 2018.
Reports about Castillo being unsupervised at Cazes’ home caught the attention of a former West Baton Rouge deputy.