Man Pleads Guilty to Transportation of a Minor with Intent to Have Sex

BUFFALO, NY—United States Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced that Jose Nedar Reyes-Castro, 25, of Bridgeville, DE, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Chief Judge William M. Skretny, to one felony charge of transportation of a minor with intent to have sex. Transportation of a minor with intent to have sex carries a maximum penalty of life in prison, a mandatory minimum term of 10 years in prison, and a fine of $250,000.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron J. Mango, who handled the case, stated that on March 26, 2009, the defendant knowingly transported a 12-year-old minor female victim from the State of Delaware to the State of New York. Specifically, the defendant convinced the victim to run away with him, and the two traveled by vehicle to the State of Maryland, then to the State of Florida, and then to the State of New York. The defendant further admitted that while in Delaware, Maryland, and Florida, he had intercourse with the victim. On April 5, 2009, the defendant and the victim were apprehended by law enforcement personnel when they attempted to cross into Ontario, Canada at the Peace Bridge in Buffalo, New York.

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 plea was the culmination of an investigation on the part of Special Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of James H. Robertson, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Customs and Border Protection under the direction of Joseph Wilson, Buffalo Port Director, and the Buffalo Police Department under the direction of Interim Commissioner Daniel Derenda.

Sentencing is scheduled for August 16, 2010, at 9:00 a.m., in Buffalo, N.Y., in front of U.S. District Chief Judge William M. Skretny.