Texas man gets 60 years for sexual exploitation of children

SAN ANTONIO, Texas - A San Antonio-area man will spend the next six decades in prison for sexual exploitation of children, says the US Attorney's Office.

What we know:

44-year-old Christopher Lee Castano of Universal City has been sentenced to 720 months in federal prison for three charges related to sexual exploitation of children.

He will also have to pay restitution to two child victims in the amount of $50,000 each and another $5,000 each to five additional victims.

The backstory:

According to court documents, Castano accessed and transferred child sexual abuse material (CSAM) to and from external devices using his employer’s computer system while at a facility in San Antonio. 

In August 2022, Castano's employer contacted the FBI after they discovered he had files with names associated with CSAM. The files had been on four removable devices since January 2022 and another employee had seen Castano connect those devices to their employer's computers.

A federal search warrant led to the search of Castano’s work area and his devices, and an investigation revealed CSAM was produced by Castano between 2015 and 2018 when the female child victim in the images was between 11 and 14 years old. 

FBI personnel also located multiple images and videos depicting another girl produced around 2016 when that victim was between the ages of five and 26 months old. 

A graphic CSAM video of Castano’s was produced using his cell phone in 2018, depicting the second victim when she was just over two years old.

Castano has remained in federal custody since his arrest on Aug. 10, 2022. He was indicted on 13 counts on Sept. 7, 2022 and pleaded guilty to three in Oct. 2023.

What they're saying:

"Unless he lives well into his hundreds, this child predator is rightfully going to serve what is essentially a life sentence for the heinous crimes he has committed against at least half a dozen children," said Acting U.S. Attorney Margaret Leachman for the Western District of Texas. "I thank Castano’s employer for reporting his actions to our partners at the FBI, who helped us achieve this just sentence. While this does not erase what the child victims endured, we hope that they find some solace in the fact that Castano is no longer a threat to anyone."

"Castano heinously abused some of the most vulnerable among us. This sentence properly reflects the seriousness of his crimes and will hopefully provide some semblance of justice for his victims. The FBI is committed to protecting our children and relentlessly pursuing those who would cause them harm," said Special Agent in Charge Aaron Tapp for the FBI’s San Antonio Field Office. "We want to thank the U.S. Attorney’s Office for their partnership and dedication to this important mission."