A Kansas man was sentenced on Mar. 24 to 110 months in prison after being found guilty of receiving child sexual abuse material over the Internet from an individual later convicted of related crimes.
The case highlights ongoing efforts by law enforcement to address the exploitation and repeated victimization of children through online sharing of illegal content. Authorities say that financial penalties imposed on offenders are directed toward supporting victims as they recover from these crimes.
According to court documents, Frank Castro, 50, of Kansas City, Kansas, was convicted after a bench trial on one count of receipt of child pornography. In September 2020, Castro exchanged social media messages with Antonio Galicia in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Galicia offered and then sent Castro a video file depicting himself sexually abusing a young child. The Milwaukee Police Department discovered evidence linking Galicia’s transmission of the video to Castro during their investigation into Galicia’s series of child sex offenses and shared this information with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
As part of his sentence, Castro was ordered by a federal judge to pay a $10,000 special assessment into a government fund designed to assist victims harmed by such offenses. “Predators who molest children inflict further trauma when they capture then share images of the abuse over the Internet, thereby making victims feel repeatedly exploited,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan A. Kriegshauser. “The Defined Monetary Assistance Victims Reserve helps victims trying to rebuild their lives, and the money comes from financial penalties imposed by the courts on convicted sex offenders.”
The FBI investigated this case while Assistant U.S. Attorneys Audrey McCormick and Scott Rask prosecuted it.
This prosecution is part of Project Safe Childhood—a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice—to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse through collaboration among federal, state, and local agencies.
