Illinois Man Admits To Traveling To Clinton For Sex With Minor: Feds

CLINTON, CT — An Illinois man has pleaded guilty to a federal charge that he traveled to Clinton to have sex with a teen that he communicated with through an online app, according to authorities. Arturo Castro, 52, pleaded guilty Monday in Bridgeport federal court to one count of use of an interstate facility to persuade a minor to engage in unlawful sexual activity, U.S. States Attorney Deirdre M. Daly announced in a press release.

According to court documents, in approximately December 2013, Castro began communicating with a 15-year-old female in Clinton, Connecticut through the online app “Chess with Friends” and through email. Using the app’s chat option, Castro first asked the victim to send him naked photographs of herself, and subsequently convinced the girl to create sexually explicit videos and send them to him. (To sign up for Clinton breaking news alerts and more, click here.)

In January and February of 2014, Castro sent and received series of explicit email messages to the girl, according to court documents. They included photos and videos apparently showing him masturbating, with some containing geolocation metadata indicating they were recorded in Wilmette.

"This is not an adventure. This is a clear strong pursuit of my life at this point. Although extremely risky and unusual, which makes it adventurous, it is very real and purposeful," said one message sent from Castro's email address to the girl's, according to a redacted affidavit from Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent Ryan Mahar.

Signed "Your wonderful Arturo," the message passionately declares the author's love to the minor. "I want to live that so much. be your first kiss and your first so many things...You will want to make love to me over and over. for many days and years and more I hope."

In March 2014, Castro traveled from Illinois to Connecticut and engaged in illicit sexual activity with the minor victim, authorities said.

The 15-year-old told investigators Castro her he was surprised she would talk to him because he was close to 40 years old and he kept asking her if she was a cop, according to court documents.

According to the affidavit, the girl's mother contacted the Clinton Police Department in April of 2016 and notified an officer that an AOL email user had engaged in inappropriate conversations with her daughter about two years prior. She told police she had searched her daughters old iPhone and found numerous sexually implicit images had been sent from the phone.

Police spoke to the victim, who explained how she had first communicated with Castro in the chat function of the "Chess With Friends" online game. She told investigators she had initially lied about her age, saying she was 16 or 17, but later told her true age.

Castro has been detained since his arrest on Dec. 13, 2016.

Castro is scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 28 at which time he faces a minimum of 10 years in prison and a maximum term of life in prison, prosecutors said. He initially faced charges of travel in interstate commerce with intent to engage in illicit sexual activity with a minor and receipt of child pornography, offenses which would have carried a maximum of an additional 50 years of imprisonment had he been convicted.

Castro is a citizen of Mexico and a legal permanent resident of the U.S., according to the Department of Justice. He was formerly a employed as a professor by the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), and worked at its Chicago office. UNAM Chicago directed all queries to a lawyer, who did not immediately confirm when Castro was let go from the university.

This investigation was conducted by Homeland Security Investigations in New Haven and Chicago, and the Clinton Police Department.

Federal prosecutors said the investigation and conviction of Castro was part of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Project Safe Childhood Initiative, which is aimed at protecting children from sexual abuse and exploitation. A CyberTipLine is available for members of the public who become aware of cases of child exploitation to report incidents to the department.

Patch editor Jonah Meadows contributed

Image via Wilmette PD