Three Charged In Connection With Louisville Carjacking And Child Exploitation

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Acting United States Attorney Michael A. Bennett announced today that three Louisville, Kentucky, men have been charged by a federal Grand Jury in a six-count superseding indictment.

“I commend the FBI, HSI, and LMPD for their work in identifying, investigating, and apprehending the defendants who now stand charged with serious violations of federal law,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Bennett.

“This investigation highlights the efforts of the Violent Crime Task Force in identifying, investigating, and ultimately arresting our most violent offenders,” said FBI Louisville Special Agent in Charge Robert Brown.  “The defendants in this case are alleged to have taken advantage of innocent bystanders, including children, for their own personal gain. This is just one example of how FBI Louisville is working diligently with our partners to protect the public from violent crime.”  

According to the superseding indictment returned on February 23, 2021, Bruno Castillo-Juarez, 19, has been charged with carjacking a Honda Civic on August 27, 2020, and brandishing a firearm in furtherance of the carjacking.  Castillo-Juarez was also charged with receiving and distributing child pornography on that same day.

The Grand Jury also charged Ruben Hernandez, 19, with production of child pornography, and Darrin Ammons, 51, with receipt of child pornography.

The charge of carjacking carries a term of imprisonment of no more than 15 years; brandishing a firearm in relation to a crime of violence carries a term of imprisonment of no less than 7 years and no more than life; production of child pornography carries a term of no less than 15 years and no more than 30 years; and receipt and/or distribution of child pornography carries a term of imprisonment of no less than 5 years and no more than 20 years.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Ann Marie Blaylock and A. Spencer McKiness. The FBI Louisville Field Office, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and the Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD) are investigating this case.

This case falls with the purview of the Violent Crime Task Force. The partners on the task force include: The FBI, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), HSI, LMPD, the Kentucky State Police, the Jefferson Co. Sheriff’s Office, and the United States Attorney’s Office.

This case was also brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc  For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."

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The indictment of a person by a Grand Jury is an accusation only and that
person is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.

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