NYC Daycare Owner Accused of Sexually Exploiting 11-Year-Old, Distributing Child Porn

A Bronx man who ran a daycare service from his residence is accused sexual exploitation of a child and production, receipt, distribution and possession of child pornography, federal and local authorities announced Friday.

Silfredo Castillo Martinez, 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 receipt and distribution of 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, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Damian Williams, the FBI, NYPD and the U.S. Secret Service said.

Attorney information for Martinez was not immediately known.

The charges stem from an investigation that allegedly revealed that from in or about July 2015 through at least May 3, 2022, Martinez operated a licensed daycare facility for children at his residence in the Bronx and that on May 2018 to about July of that same year, Martinez allegedly induced an 11-year-old who attended the daycare to engage in sexually explicit conduct and recorded it on his cellphone and camera.

Subsequently, on May 3, 2022, law enforcement executed a search warrant at Martinez’s residence seizing electronic devices containing several images and video of child pornography depicting the 11-year-old victim and nearly 10,000 more pornographic images of children.

“Silfredo Castillo Martinez’s primary responsibility as a daycare provider was to watch over neighborhood children.  Instead, he allegedly abused that role in order to sexually exploit one of the minors under his care,” Williams said.  “During the time when he was supposed to be protecting children, he also allegedly received, distributed, and possessed tens of thousands of images of child pornography. Castillo Martinez’s alleged conduct was unconscionable, and we will continue to work tirelessly to protect the children of our community.”

Meanwhile, Freaney shared similar sentiments.

“The charges brought forth today allege reprehensible violation and exploitation committed by an individual who was expected to provide extraordinary trustworthiness and protection to the most vulnerable,” Freaney said. “Our expert investigators and partners assigned to the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force have successfully brought this individual before our justice system to face these allegations.  I am thankful for their continued dedication and unending work in our shared investigative priority to keep our children safe from harm.”

In a statement, Sewell said in part: “This investigation highlights the most important function of law enforcement in our society: protecting the vulnerable against criminal predators who would seek to abuse, exploit, and harm them.”

Driscoll encourages those who may have additional information in connection to the case to contact authorities.

“The crimes Castillo Martinez stands charged with today are nearly unimaginable… We encourage anyone who believes they may have information relevant to this investigation to contact us at 1-800-CALL-FBI or online at tips.fbi.gov.”