William Alexander Ruiz-Ponce, a 28-year-old Honduran national present in the United States without authorization, pleaded guilty on Apr. 6 to attempted coercion and enticement of a minor, according to United States Attorney Kurt L. Wall.
Ruiz-Ponce admitted that in February 2025 he used social media applications and text messages to try to convince someone he believed was a 14-year-old girl in Denham Springs, Louisiana, to have an illegal sexual relationship with him. He traveled to Denham Springs intending to meet the supposed minor for sexual acts but was arrested by law enforcement officers after arriving at the agreed location. The individual he had been communicating with was actually an undercover officer.
According to court records, Ruiz-Ponce sent sexually explicit images of himself during these conversations and expressed his intent for illegal sexual contact. His conviction carries a mandatory minimum sentence of ten years in prison and could result in up to life imprisonment, along with a $250,000 fine, supervised release for up to life, sex offender registration requirements, and removal or deportation from the United States after serving his sentence.
The investigation involved U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, U.S. Department of Homeland Security – Homeland Security Investigations, and Livingston Parish Sheriff’s Office. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Stephen Vick and Special Assistant United States Attorney Allen Ross.
This prosecution is part of Project Safe Childhood—a nationwide initiative launched by the Department of Justice in May 2006 aimed at combating child sexual exploitation online—and Operation Take Back America which targets violent crime related to illegal immigration.
