What there is to know
- A Bronx man who ran a daycare center from his residence is charged with sexual exploitation of a child and the production, receipt, distribution and possession of child pornography, federal and local authorities announced Friday.
- Silfredo Castillo Martínez, 32, faces life in prison if convicted on any of the charges.
- The charges stem from an investigation which allegedly revealed that between May 2018 and approximately July of that year, Martinez allegedly instigated an 11-year-old boy attending daycare to engage in sexually explicit behavior and recorded it on his cellphone. and camera.
NEW YORK — A Bronx man who ran a day care center from his residence is charged with sexual exploitation of a child and the production, receipt, distribution and possession of child pornography, federal and local authorities said Friday.
Silfredo Castillo Martínez, 32, is charged with one count of sexual exploitation of a child, which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison and a maximum sentence of life in prison; one count of receiving and distributing child pornography, which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison and a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison; and one count of possession of child pornography, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, said U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Damian Williams, the FBI, New York police and the Secret Service the United States.
Information from Martinez’s attorney was not immediately available.
The charges stem from an investigation that reportedly found that from at least July 2015 to May 3, 2022, Martinez operated a licensed day care center at his Bronx residence and that from May 2018 to July from that same anus. Martinez allegedly incited an 11-year-old boy attending daycare to engage in sexually explicit behavior and recorded it on his cellphone and camera.
Subsequently, on May 3, 2022, police executed a search warrant at Martinez’s home and seized electronic devices containing various child pornography images and videos showing the 11-year-old victim and nearly 10,000 other child pornography images. .
“Silvredo Castillo Martínez’s main responsibility as a child care provider was to look after the children in the neighborhood. Instead, he allegedly abused that role to sexually exploit one of the minors in his care,” Williams said. “While he was supposed to protect children, he also allegedly received, distributed and possessed tens of thousands of images of child pornography. Castillo Martinez’s alleged conduct was outrageous, and we will continue to work tirelessly to protect children in our community.”
Meanwhile, Patrick Freaney, Special Agent in Charge of the US Secret Service Field Office in New York, shared similar sentiments.
“The charges filed today allege wrongful violation and exploitation by an individual who was meant to provide extraordinary reliability and protection to the most vulnerable,” Freaney said. “He brought this individual to our court system to face these charges. I am grateful to him for his continued dedication and hard work on our shared investigative priority of protecting our children.”
In a statement, New York Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell said, “This investigation highlights the most important role of law enforcement in our society: protecting vulnerable people from criminal predators who would seek to abuse, exploit and harm them”.
Meanwhile, Deputy Director in Charge of the FBI’s New York Field Office, Michael Driscoll, is encouraging those who may have additional information regarding the case to contact authorities.
“The crimes Castillo Martinez is charged with today are almost unimaginable…We encourage anyone who thinks they have information relevant to this investigation to contact us at 1-800-CALL-FBI or online at tips.fbi.gov.”