New Orleans Man Pleads Guilty in D.C. to Coercing and Enticing a Minor

WASHINGTON - Joseph Gallina, 34, of New Orleans, Louisiana, pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court to coercing and enticing a minor, announced U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.

Gallina pleaded guilty before Chief Judge James E. Boasberg who scheduled sentencing for Sept. 24, 2026. The charge of coercion and enticement of a minor carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum sentence of life.

"This case is a stark reminder of the grave harm caused by those who exploit and manipulate minors for their own purposes," said U.S. Attorney Pirro. "The defendant's actions were calculated, predatory, and deeply damaging. My office remains committed to holding offenders accountable and to protecting vulnerable children from abuse, coercion, and exploitation in all forms."

According to court documents, in July 2024 Gallina communicated with a minor child using text messages and several different mobile applications.

During these conversations, Gallina instructed the minor child to produce sexually explicit videos and photos of herself. The minor child produced those images and sent them to Gallina.

Gallina discussed meeting the minor child in person and told her that her family could not know about their relationship. Gallina told the minor child, "[b]eing a minor, I could get into a lot of trouble for doing that. You would have to stop contact with ypur (sic) family."

Gallina then posted a solicitation on a fetish website which included sexually explicit images of the minor child and sought to arrange sexual encounters between the minor child and adult men in the D.C. area. Several men responded to Gallina's post and one of the men met the minor child in the District of Columbia and had sex with her.

Gallina told the minor child that he wanted to see a video of her sexual encounter with the adult man and gave her specific instructions for what he wanted her to say and do during the sexual encounter. When the minor child was not able to record her sexual encounter with the stranger, Gallina told her that he was "disappointed."

Joining U.S. Attorney Pirro in the announcement was FBI Assistant Director in Charge Darren B. Cox of the Washington Field Office.

This case was investigated by FBI's Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Karen Shinskie.

This case was brought as part of the Department of Justice's Project Safe Childhood initiative. In February 2006, the Attorney General created Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse.

Led by the U.S. Attorney's Offices, 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 identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.projectsafechildhood.govLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the "external link" icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link..

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Or at https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc