Silfredo Castillo Martinez, the owner of a former Bronx licensed children’s daycare facility, Lina’s Garden Daycare, located at 3525 Decatur Avenue in Norwood, was sentenced in federal court on Thursday, June 27, to 25 years in prison for producing child pornography with a minor victim who was under his watch at the daycare center.

 

As reported, on March 21, Castillo Martinez pled guilty to sexual exploitation of a child, and production of child pornography before U.S. District Judge Paul A. Engelmayer, who imposed Thursday’s sentence.

 

Reacting to the sentencing, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Damian Williams said, “Silfredo Castillo Martinez exploited the trust placed in him as a daycare provider by sexually abusing one of the minor children under his care and recording that abuse. This lengthy prison sentence holds Castillo Martinez accountable for his horrific crimes and the extraordinary harm and trauma he caused.”

 

According to the criminal complaint, and as previously reported, from about July 2015 through about May 3, 2022, Castillo Martinez, ran the licensed daycare facility for children at his home in Norwood (the “daycare facility”). From about May 2018 through about July 2018, he induced an 11-year-old minor (“Minor Victim-1”) who attended the daycare facility to engage in sexually explicit conduct with him at the facility while Castillo Martinez recorded that conduct on his cellphone and camera.

 

On about May 3, 2022, law enforcement agents executed a search warrant at Castillo Martinez’s home and seized several electronic devices belonging to him. Those devices contained, among other things, several images and a video containing child pornography depicting Minor Victim-1 and around 9,800 other images depicting child pornography.

 

In addition to his prison term, Castillo Martinez, 34, of The Bronx was sentenced to a lifetime of supervised release.

 

The case was handled by the Office’s General Crimes Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jackie Delligatti led the prosecution.

 

On Thursday, Williams praised what he described as the outstanding investigative work of the U.S. Secret Service’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, the FBI, and the NYPD. He also thanked the Bronx County District Attorney’s Office for its assistance with the investigation.

A visit to the site of since closed Lina’s Garden Daycare on March 21 found that a new daycare center was scheduled to open “soon”  at the same location, according to information posted at the location and will be called “El Jardín de Niños” [The Garden of Children].

 

Norwood News called the number for the new center on March 29 and asked if it was yet open and were informed it was not. We asked if a new date for the opening was known, and were informed it was not. Asked if we were speaking to the new owner, the person said, “Yes.” We asked the new owner if she had been affiliated with the previous owner, the person said, “No. I don’t know nothing about that.” Asked if she knew Castillio-Martinez, she said, “No.”

 

We asked what agency she was in touch with in terms of the oversight of the daycare, the woman replied, “No, I can’t give you any information. Call another time.” We are following up with the new center and will share any new information we receive.

 

As reported, Norwood News attempted to speak to some of the local residents and parents about Castillo Martinez’s arrest at the time it occurred. Click here to read our previous story on our interactions with residents and City officials about the case.

 

As also reported, one-year-old Nicholas Feliz Dominici, tragically died following an apparent fentanyl overdose at a separate Bronx-based daycare center, El Divino Niño Daycare Center, located on Morris Avenue in Kingsbridge Heights, on Friday, Sept. 15, 2023. The criminal cases relating to those arrested following his death are ongoing, as reported. Two have since pleaded guilty.

 

In a separate case, on March 22, federal authorities announced that Carter Kennedy, a convicted sex offender who had fled to Mexico from probation in Oregon following a conviction for encouraging child sexual abuse in the first degree in that state, was arrested on March 21, and was charged with sexual exploitation of a child and other child sex offenses.

 

They said he was deported from Mexico by Mexican immigration authorities and arrived on March 21 at San Francisco International Airport, where he was arrested by the FBI upon arrival. He was due to be presented on March 22 in San Francisco federal court before U.S. Magistrate Judge Laurel Beeler.

 

They said anyone with information concerning Kennedy or anyone who may have encountered someone using the WhatsApp username 5215591447960@s.whatsapp.net or the aliases “Mikey Portuguez Perez” or “Javed Montero,” is asked to contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI or https://tips.fbi.gov.

Officials from the District Attorney’s office previously said of Castillo Martinez, “Anyone who may have been a victim of the defendant or has information about victims is encouraged to call the NYPD Bronx Child Abuse Squad at (929) 265-3638.”

 

For additional information on child day care and for similar information in different languages, please see the following:

• Choosing Child Care in New York City (PDF)
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More Information

• Sign up to receive text or email notices about specific child care locations
• Choosing the Right Summer Camp for Your Child
• Group Child Care Programs: Critical Incident Reports
• Healthy Child Care Settings
• Keeping Your Child Healthy

 

Residents can find out about past issues at a child care facility by using NYC Child Care Connect or the State’s Office of Children and Family Services page. If you think a child care facility may be unsanitary, unsafe or illegal, call 311. If you think a child may be in immediate danger, call 911.