Arturo Castro Charged in Child Exploitation Case

Arturo Castro, 52, of Wilmette, Illinois, has been indicted on multiple federal child exploitation charges after allegedly grooming and sexually abusing a 15-year-old girl in Connecticut through an online chess app. The case, unveiled today by federal prosecutors, paints a chilling picture of predation masked as digital friendship.

According to court documents, Castro initiated contact with the minor in December 2013 via the mobile game ‘Chess with Friends.’ Using the app’s chat feature, he manipulated the teenager into sending naked photos and later coerced her into producing sexually explicit videos. The communications laid the groundwork for a physical encounter in March 2014, when Castro traveled from Illinois to Connecticut to engage in illicit sexual activity with the victim.

The federal grand jury in Bridgeport returned a three-count indictment charging Castro with one count of coercion and enticement of a minor to engage in sexual activity—carrying a mandatory minimum of 10 years and up to life in prison; one count of travel in interstate commerce with intent to engage in illicit sexual activity with a minor—punishable by up to 30 years; and one count of receipt of child pornography—subject to a mandatory minimum of five years and a maximum of 20 years.

Castro was taken into custody on December 13, 2016, in Wilmette. Following a detention hearing in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, he was ordered held without bond and transferred to the District of Connecticut to face prosecution. Authorities say evidence seized during the investigation includes digital records of the explicit exchanges and travel logs confirming his trip east.

The investigation was conducted by Homeland Security Investigations in both New Haven and Chicago, alongside the Clinton Police Department in Connecticut. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jacabed Rodriguez-Coss is leading the prosecution. This case falls under the Department of Justice’s Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat child sexual abuse and exploitation.

U.S. Attorney Deirdre M. Daly emphasized that an indictment is not evidence of guilt, reiterating the defendant’s constitutional presumption of innocence until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Anyone with information about child exploitation is urged to report it at www.cybertipline.com.