Eduardo Castillo, Online Enticement of a Minor, California 2023

Eduardo Castillo, a 38-year-old man from Corning, California, is facing federal charges of online enticement of a minor for sexual purposes. According to court documents, Castillo used a cellphone and the internet to entice at least four minor victims into sending him images and videos of themselves engaging in sexually explicit conduct. This heinous crime occurred between August 23rd and 27th, 2020.

Castillo was indicted on December 15, 2022, on four counts of online enticement of a minor for sexual purposes. On August 15, 2023, Mexican law enforcement officials apprehended Castillo in La Presa, Colima, Mexico, and subsequently, on August 16, 2023, he was deported by Mexican Immigration for having an irregular immigration status in Mexico.

Castillo’s return to the United States to face prosecution is funded by the FBI Criminal Investigative Division, Crimes Against Children and Human Trafficking Unit. He is currently in custody at the Sacramento County Jail and is awaiting his initial appearance before the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of California.

The FBI continues to collaborate with its law enforcement partners to apprehend criminals charged with crimes who then flee the jurisdiction. Cases seeking information from the public, including fugitive matters, are posted on the FBI Sacramento Field Office’s Most Wanted page and the FBI Wanted app. Anyone with information that may aid the investigation of these cases may contact their local FBI office, United States embassy, or submit information online at tips.fbi.gov.

This case is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Denise N. Yasinow is prosecuting the case. If convicted, Castillo faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison, a maximum statutory penalty of life in prison, and a $250,000 fine.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute those who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc.

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