WACO, Texas — The McLennan County Sheriff's Office is once again making it on national television because of the work and techniques they use on their cases.
"Did we think at any point any of this was ever going to be on you know, national news? Obviously not," said Detective Joseph Scaramucci with the department's Human Trafficking Unit. "I would have never imagined that."
He says not only is the national platform good for his department but all the other agencies and civilians across the United States too.
"It helps create discussion and the more that it's discussed the more we can get past victimization and really work with law enforcement to find these victims and hold perpetrators accountable," Scaramucci explained.
The department and Scaramucci were recently featured on the Dr. Phil show, and other national platforms previously, but the sheriff's office will soon have another under their belts with Investigation Discovery.
"The show that's coming out on Discovery ID is in regards to crimes that occur on the internet," he said. "Clearly, this one occurred all over the internet because it happened to 120 people at minimum throughout the U.S."
The case being featured in the new show involves a man by the name of Andy Castillo, who was making physical and sexual threats and harassing realtors in their children all across the country; including some in Central Texas.
"He never presented that he was interested in property," Scaramucci said about Castillo's case. "He never anything. "Right out of the chutes get very sexually explicit with them and tell them all the things he wanted to do to them and their children."
Scaramucci and the MCSO tracked down and connected Castillo to the physical and sexual threats he was making to realtors and their kids in McLennan County which also led them to find out there was victims across the country.
Castillo was booked into the McLennan County Jail when DNA was taken. Scaramucci told 6 news the DNA matched with two homicidal cold cases in Lubbock County. Castillo was booked into the Lubbock County Jail where he would later die of COVID-19, according to the detective.
Now the detective is sharing the tactics of the case with the country and how they get people like him behind bars.
"Many times these kinds of crimes, they're not seen through all the time so the fact that we did see it through and did everything we could to identify him -- additionally, so quickly," he added. "Usually it takes months and we were able to do this in a week is what got their ultimate attention and got us an episode on the show."
Scaramucci hopes people who watch the episode about the Castillo case gets some light at the end of the tunnel and to know that it just takes one one break for the entire case to come folding in.
He also tells 6 News that their is beauty in the internet and technology when it comes to cracking cases and that they've been a game changing tool for law enforcement today.
"It goes to show that we're not limited to just a text, just a phone call," Scaramucci explained. "It very often times could be something much bigger. Whether you know it or not, you're leaving breadcrumbs and if you're committing crime on the internet, and you're committing that crime in McLennan County, we're gonna find you. "
Scaramucci tells 6 News since 2014, the department has worked at least 600 cases that were directly tied to sting operations or the internet, whether it be prostitution based human trafficking, online solicitation. In addition to that, they've worked with hundreds of law enforcement agencies throughout the U.S and the world.
The premiere of the Investigation Discovery show, or the exact episode featuring the McLennan County Sheriff's Office has yet to be announced.
6 News will be sure to let you know when it's released.