Carlos Jobany Castaneda Lechuga, a 38-year-old who previously taught mariachi in Phoenix, entered a guilty plea yesterday on five child pornography production charges, the U.S. Department of Justice said. The five counts each involve a separate minor-age girl, bringing the total number of child victims to five.
Castaneda Lechuga currently lives in Laredo, Texas. The prosecution is being handled in Phoenix, Arizona, where the case was brought.
United States District Judge Diane J. Humetewa will oversee the sentencing hearing, which the Justice Department said is set for September 15, 2026. Each of the five production counts carries its own potential penalty, and the judge will determine the final sentence at that proceeding.
The guilty plea covers conduct involving five girls, all minors at the time. Castaneda Lechuga's former role as a mariachi instructor gave him access to young students in the Phoenix area before he relocated to Laredo. The Justice Department did not specify in its release when that relocation occurred or how the crimes were discovered, but the case moved forward to a plea agreement covering all five counts.