Man Indicted on Kidnapping Charge

BUFFALO, NY—A federal grand jury in Buffalo has returned a five-count indictment charging Jose Nedar Reyes-Castro, 21, of Bridgeville, DE, with kidnapping, enticement, transportation of a minor, and false statements, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Kathleen M. Mehltretter of the Western District of New York. The charges carry a maximum penalty of life imprisonment, a fine of $250,000, or both.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron J. Mango stated that the Indictment charges the defendant with kidnapping a minor, enticing and transporting the minor in interstate and foreign commerce, with the intent to engage in illegal sexual activity, and making false statements to border officials. Specifically, the indictment alleges that the defendant took the minor on March 26, 2009, traveled through various states and had sex with the minor in various states. On April 5, 2009, the defendant and the minor attempted to enter Canada via the Peace Bridge. They were refused admission, and upon inspection by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers, the defendant provided a false name and stated that the minor was his sister. The defendant was arraigned today on the charges by the Honorable H. Kenneth Schroeder, Jr., United States Magistrate Judge. The defendant’s next court hearing is scheduled for December 2, 2009, at 10 a.m. before Magistrate Judge Schroeder for oral arguments on any motions that may be filed.

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

The Indictment was the culmination of an investigation on the part of Special Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Cory Nelson, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Enforcement Officers of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, under the direction of James T. Engleman, Director of Field Operations, and the Buffalo Police Department, under the direction of Commissioner H. McCarthy Gipson. The evidence was presented to the Grand Jury by Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron J. Mango, who will handle the trial of the case.

The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.