ILLEGAL ALIEN SENTENCED TO 120 MONTHS IN FEDERAL PRISON FOR ATTEMPTED COERCION AND ENTICEMENT OF A MINOR

William Alexander Ruiz-Ponce, age 28, of Honduras, who is present in the United States without authorization, was sentenced to 120 months in federal prison following his conviction for attempted coercion and enticement of a minor. U.S. District Court Judge Brian A. Jackson further sentenced Ruiz-Ponce to serve five years of supervised release following his term of imprisonment. He is also subject to removal or deportation from the United States upon completion of his sentence.

According to admissions made as part of his guilty plea, in February 2025, Ruiz-Ponce used social media applications and text messages to convince someone he believed was a 14-year-old girl in Denham Springs, Louisiana, to have an illegal sexual relationship with him. Ruiz-Ponce traveled to Denham Springs to meet the supposed 14-year-old girl and engage in sexual acts. An undercover law enforcement officer posed as the 14-year-old girl, and officers arrested Ruiz-Ponce when he arrived at the agreed-upon location. During their conversation, Ruiz-Ponce sent the undercover officer sexually explicit images of himself, including photos of his genitals. Ruiz-Ponce also asked for the undercover officer's location and expressed his desire to engage in illegal sex acts in person.

U.S. Attorney Wall stated, "Make no mistake, our office will aggressively prosecute those despicable individuals who continue to attempt to solicit our children. This conviction is further proof of that effort." He praised the work of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, U.S. Department of Homeland Security - Homeland Security Investigations, and Livingston Parish Sheriff's Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Vick and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Allen Ross lead the prosecution.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys' Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.