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Man who crossed country to have sex with a child convicted in Atlanta

He shared disturbing plans with a 'mother' he met on Craigslist. That person was actually an undercover agent.
Credit: SchulteProductions - iStock/Getty Images Plus

ATLANTA -- A California man has been convicted in Atlanta for traveling across the country to have sex with a child.

Craig Alan Castaneda was found guilty on Thursday for crimes associated with traveling from San Diego hoping to meet a 9-year-old girl for sex years earlier.

The undercover investigation began in April of 2015 when Castaneda answered an ad on Craigslist from a "mother" in search of a teacher for her daughter. The ad was actually posted by an undercover FBI agent, records state.

According to court records, Castaneda responded to the ad the next day and described his previous experience in molesting children - including a child as young as 4 years old.

He also said that he was "grooming" another child to be molested but that the family moved away.

Castaneda continued to communicate with the undercover agent for several weeks and made plans to travel to Atlanta. In his final communication with the agent before boarding the plane, court records state he told the "mother" to get sex toys and lubricant.

On May 2, 2015, Castaneda touched down at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport where he was met not by a mother and child but rather a group of FBI agents who promptly arrested him.

The Imperial Beach, California native was indicted a month later in Georgia on one count of traveling from another state to engage in sexual activity with a child and one count of enticing a minor to engage in illegal sexual activity.

Three years later he was found guilty by a jury after a three-day trial. His sentencing date hasn't yet been scheduled.

"This conviction is another example of the lengths child predators will go to prey on our children,” said Chris Hacker, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “It is also an example of the FBI’s determination to pursue them. We hope it also serves as a warning to predators who feel they can act out on the internet without fear of being caught.”

The case is being brought as part of Project Safe Childhood which was launched by the U.S. Attorney General's Office in 2006. The program is designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse.

"We hope it also serves as a warning to predators who feel they can act out on the internet without fear of being caught,” said Chris Hacker, special agent in charge of the FBI Atlanta office. 

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