Ex-Substitute Teacher Sentenced for Receiving Child Porn

A former Chula Vista substitute teacher will spend seven years in prison for receiving child pornography, U.S. District Court Judge Michael M. Annello decided Monday.

The judge said Alejandro Castillo Jr.’s offense “was higher on the scale” of child pornography because he was in position of trust for children, had talked with minors about sexual conduct over the internet and had committed the offenses over a long period of time, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office.

Castillo, 36, formerly worked at Los Altos Elementary School in Chula Vista as a substitute teacher. He pleaded guilty in September to receiving images and videos of minors as young as six years old involved in sexually explicit conduct with adults.

Court records say he had collected many illegal child porn images, including pictures of bondage and degradation. He received the images while he held sensitive positions of trust at camps and schools, federal prosecutors say.

According to Homeland Security, Castillo also worked as an in-home tutor and a cabin counselor at summer program.

“Protecting vulnerable children remains one of the Department of Justice’s most important priorities,” said U.S. Attorney Laura Duffy in a statement. “This sentence recognizes the seriousness of the defendant’s conduct and the egregious special circumstances present in this case.”

According to the original complaint, a Homeland Security agent was conducting an undercover child pornography investigation when he came across a computer distributing illicit files.

He downloaded at least five illegal videos from the source, and when he traced the computer’s IP address, the information led back to Castillo, the complaint says.

Castillo was arrested last April when Homeland Security special agents served a search warrant to his Chula Vista home. They said he admitted to possessing the child pornography, even after he was read his Miranda rights.

After his arrest, the Los Altos Elementary principal sent a letter home to parents, informing them that Castillo no longer worked there or any other school.