Leticia Castillo has publicly acknowledged operating adult entertainment websites under the names “Silky Santana” and “Silky Smooth” during the 2000s.
Castillo, 55, a Republican assemblywoman from Corona, made the admission in a statement to the California Post just weeks before voters in Riverside County decide her fate in a razor-thin rematch against Democratic challenger Clarissa Cervantes. The incumbent won their 2024 contest by only 596 votes.
The assemblywoman, who campaigns under the banner “Faith, Family, Freedom” and has championed legislation restricting transgender rights and allowing parents to pull children out of school lessons about gender identity, described the period as a dark chapter she left behind through Christian faith.
“I’m never going to claim to be a victim of anything,” Castillo said. “I was an adult and, unfortunately, thought I wanted to start an adult entertainment business with a friend’s encouragement.”
She said she was grieving her father’s death from pancreatic cancer and “angry at God” at the time. She said she turned to Jesus and realized “I’m better than that.”
“Who I was then is not who I am today, and it hasn’t been for a very long time,” Castillo said.
The XXX websites were started and operated over a period of years that overlaps with a time period that Castillo’s LinkedIn notes she was working for Verizon. Castillo worked in a variety of fields before becoming a licensed therapist in California in 2016, according to her LinkedIn. The California Family Council graded Castillo at 85% on its “Biblical Values Score.”
“I do not advertise this part of my life. I also do not run from it,” Castillo said.
“My constituents are sick of politicians, like my opponent, who will say and do anything to get elected, who lie, cheat, raise our taxes, and protect criminals instead of working to make our district safer and more affordable.”
She added, “The people I represent deserve to hear it from me rather than from someone else. If any one of them wants to ask me about it, I will answer.”
Cervantes, a Riverside City Council member, brings her own contested history to the race. She got her first DUI conviction dismissed in May 2023, only to be arrested for drunken driving again about six weeks later.
The first conviction followed a 2014 arrest in Moreno Valley, when her blood alcohol level was at least 0.15% — almost twice the legal limit. She pleaded guilty to the second DUI in August 2023 and was sentenced to three years probation and a sheriff’s work release program.
Natalie Betanco, a spokesperson for Cervantes’ campaign, said she “has taken full accountability, completed recovery programs, and she’s been transparent about her years of sobriety.”
Cervantes’ campaign also denied allegations of past drug use made by her daughter’s father, Moses Bolanos, in a 2013 court dispute.
“Being young and immature back then, I made up those allegations which I regret deeply,” Bolanos said in a statement provided by Cervantes’ campaign.
Cervantes’ campaign did not directly address questions about Castillo’s adult entertainment business.
The race represents a heated rematch in the fiercely divided Inland Empire. Castillo first sought an Assembly seat in 2022 but finished third in the primary, failing to advance to the general election. She returned two years later to replace Cervantes’ sister, then-Democratic Assemblywoman Sabrina Cervantes, who now serves in the state Senate.
The revelations about Castillo’s past come just two months after a separate controversy engulfed the California GOP. In August, Republican lawmakers ousted Assembly Minority Leader Heath Flora just a day after reports revealed that he was facing two state ethics investigations and had spent more than $11,000 in campaign funds for “meals” and district meetings at a Sacramento dive bar. Flora was also found to have had multiple extramarital affairs. He was replaced by Assemblywoman Alexandra Macedo in August after less than a year leading the Republican caucus.
Voters in Riverside County will weigh both candidates’ histories when they head to the polls for the November election.