Illinois Man Sentenced For Traveling To Clinton For Sex With Minor

CLINTON, CT — An Illinois man was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for traveling to Clinton to have sex with a 15-year-old girl he met through an online game. Arturo Castro, 53, has been detained since his arrest last December. He pleaded guilty June 5 to one count of using an interstate facility to persuade a minor to engage in unlawful sexual activity.

According to court documents and statements made in court, in approximately December 2013, Castro began communicating with a 15-year-old girl Connecticut through “Chess with Friends,” an online app. Using the app’s chat option, Castro asked the minor victim to send him naked photographs of herself, and subsequently enticed the minor victim to create videos depicting the minor victim engaged in sexually explicit conduct and send those videos to Castro.

Castro also sent sexually explicit pictures and videos to the victim, according to authorities. (To sign up for Clinton breaking news alerts and more, click here.)

In March 2014, Castro traveled from Illinois to Connecticut in order to have sex with the girl and created explicit images while there, prosecutors said. Child pornography charges were dropped when Castro pleaded guilty.

The crime was only discovered about two years later when the girl's mother contacted the Clinton Police Department and informed an officer that she found inappropriate conversations between her daughter and an AOL user — later identified as Castro — while looking through an old iPhone.

Castro is a lawful permanent resident of the U.S. and a citizen of Mexico. In addition to 10 years of supervised release, he faces immigration proceedings once he is released from prison.

Image via Wilmette PD

Castro was formerly a professor with a major Mexican university and ran its cultural outreach operations in Chicago. He also worked as a management consultant since 1989, according to his Linkedin profile. It lists his specialties, including "golf course management solutions", "interpersonal, cultural and personal opportunities" and "sexual harassment prevention."

U.S. States Attorney Deirdre M. Daly 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.

With reporting by Jonah Meadows (Patch Staff)