PHOENIX – A former Phoenix mariachi teacher, Carlos Jobany Castaneda Lechuga, has pleaded guilty yesterday to five counts of Producing Child Pornography involving five minor age girls.
According to the Department of Jusitce, during the change of plea hearing, the 38-year-old Lechuga, now of of Laredo, Texas, admitted that between 2013 and 2019, he taught mariachi music classes at a school and gave private music lessons at his home in Phoenix.
The victims were students who came to his home for private music lessons. During this period, when each of the girls was between the ages of 6 – 11 years old, Lechuga recorded videos and images that showed him undressing, touching, and exposing the girls’ nude genitalia to the camera. In December 2024, the FBI located five video recordings on the dark web showing two of the identified girls.
Sentencing is scheduled for September 15, 2026, before United States District Judge Diane J. Humetewa.
Lechuga has been detained in federal custody since his arrest in December 2024.
A conviction for Producing Child Pornography carries a minimum penalty of 15 years and a maximum penalty of 30 years, and a possible $250,000 fine.
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