This teacher filmed students secretly. The Prosser man now admits to making child porn

A former first-grade teacher was ordered to federal prison Tuesday for 27 years for taking pornographic photos and video of children.

Stephen J. Castilleja, 28, of Prosser, pleaded guilty to four counts of producing child pornography.

U.S. Judge Edward Shea sentenced him to a lifetime of court supervision after he is released from prison. He also will be required to register as a sex offender.

An undercover investigation by a Kennewick Police Department detective affiliated with the Southeast Regional Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force led to a search of Castilleja’s Prosser home in May 2016.

Electronic devices seized in the search had pornographic images of children close to Castilleja through his job teaching in Granger and his personal life, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Eastern Washington.

He produced pornographic images and videos over almost a decade, including some showing Castilleja appearing to sexually abuse two children. Another video depicted a victim in the school where Castilleja taught as a first-grade teacher.

Court documents said one video found on Castilleja’s external hard drive was recorded beneath a desk in a school classroom with other children present.

Castilleja taught most recently as a first-grade teacher at the Roosevelt Elementary School in Granger. He was placed on administrative leave when allegations came to light in spring 2016, and his employment contract was not renewed for the 2016-17 school year.

He was employed by the Prosser School District from 2009-14, and used to be a full-time staff member — and later an occasional volunteer — with the Prosser branch of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Benton and Franklin Counties.

Castilleja had faced allegations that date back to 2007.

When Castilleja’s electronic devices were seized, he told officers he watched child pornography for 10 to 15 minutes daily at his worst and could not bring himself to delete his collection of child porn.

Federal documents say Castilleja knew he had a problem over a 15-year period, but did not seek help.

Instead, he sought "employment and volunteer opportunities that placed him in a position of trust with children of the same age as those depicted in the child pornography."

“In this case there was an ultimate betrayal of trust,” Shea said at the sentencing. “The face of a predator is not always what we think it will be. In this case it was a face that seem(ed) harmless.”

He also told Castilleja that he had “a compulsion, an obsession, and structured your life in a position to take advantage of little people … when they were most vulnerable.”

His actions had cause immense harm to the victims and their families, Shea said, and he read portions of statements submitted by victims in the case.

Castilleja said in court documents that he was molested as a child.

“I was supposed to be an individual whom the community and families could trust and depend on,” he said in a court document. “Through my poor actions I have shattered that trust and I know and feel it may never be repaired. I may never get the chance to express how sorry and guilty I feel to everyone this has affected but most importantly the children I hurt directly.”

He has been in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service since June 2016. He’s been held as a contract inmate in the Benton County jail.

The case should serve as a warning to those who think that they can remain anonymous in cyberspace as they sexually exploit children, said Brad Bench, special agent in charge for Homeland Security Investigations Seattle.

Joseph Harrington, acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington, said his office will continue to aggressively prosecute child pornography crimes.

This story was originally published October 31, 2017 at 7:56 PM with the headline "This teacher filmed students secretly. The Prosser man now admits to making child porn."