Saturday, March 23, 2024

Bronx Daycare Provider Pleads Guilty To Sexual Exploitation Of A Child And Producing Child Pornography

 

Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that SILFREDO CASTILLO MARTINEZ pled guilty before U.S. District Judge Paul A. Engelmayer to a Superseding Information charging him with sexual exploitation of a child and production of child pornography.  

 

U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “Silfredo Castillo Martinez exploited the trust placed in him as a daycare provider by sexually abusing one of the minor children under his care and by forcing that child to perform sex acts on himAdditionally, Castillo Martinez had nearly 10,000 images depicting child pornography in his possession, all the while caring for children on a daily basisCastillo Martinez’s conduct is reprehensible, and he now faces more than a decade in prison for his crimes.” 

According to the allegations contained in the Superseding Information and the Complaint filed on March 10, 2023:

From in or about July 2015 through in or about at least May 3, 2022, CASTILLO MARTINEZ operated a licensed daycare facility for children at his residence in the Bronx, New York (the “Daycare Facility”). 

From at least in or about May 2018 through at least in or about July 2018, CASTILLO MARTINEZ induced an 11-year-old minor (“Minor Victim-1”) who attended the Daycare Facility to engage in sexually explicit conduct with him at the Daycare Facility while CASTILLO MARTINEZ recorded that conduct on his cellphone and camera. 

On or about May 3, 2022, law enforcement agents executed a search warrant at CASTILLO MARTINEZ’s residence and seized several electronic devices belonging to CASTILLO MARTINEZ.  Those devices contained, among other things, several images and a video containing child pornography depicting Minor Victim-1 and approximately 9,800 other images depicting child pornography.

CASTILLO MARTINEZ, 34, of the Bronx, New York, pled guilty to one count of production of child pornography and sexual exploitation of a child, which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison and a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison.  CASTILLO MARTINEZ is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Engelmayer on June 25, 2024, at 11:00 a.m. 

The minimum and maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge.

Mr. Williams praised the outstanding investigative work of the U.S. Secret Service’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the New York City Police Department.  Mr. Williams also thanked the Bronx County District Attorney’s Office for its assistance.

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