VENEZUELAN NATIONAL PLEADS GUILTY TO ATTEMPTED COERCION AND ENTICEMENT OF A MINOR

United States Attorney Kurt L. Wall announced that Kleider Enrique Garcia Ochoa, age 30, a Venezuelan national who is present in the United States without authorization, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Court Judge Brian A. Jackson to attempted coercion and enticement of a minor.

According to admissions made during his plea, Ochoa used social media applications and the name "Conociendo" in an attempt to convince someone he believed was a 15-year-old boy in Denham Springs, Louisiana, to have an illegal sexual relationship with him. Ochoa agreed to travel to Denham Springs, Louisiana, to pick up the supposed 15-year-old boy to engage in sexual acts. An undercover law enforcement officer posed as the 15-year-old boy and officers arrested Ochoa when he arrived at the location. During his conduct, Ochoa sent the undercover officer a picture of himself and his genitals and requested that the supposed 15-year-old boy send him sexually explicit images of himself. Ochoa also asked for the undercover officer's location and expressed his desire to engage in illegal sex acts in person.

Ochoa's conviction is punishable by a minimum of ten years and a maximum of life in prison, a $250,000 fine, up to a lifetime period of supervised release, and includes sex offender registration requirements. He is also subject to removal or deportation from the United States upon completing his sentence.

"This guilty plea is the result of great teamwork between our law enforcement partners and our prosecutors," stated U.S. Attorney Wall. "An illegal immigrant, who was attempting to commit a sex offense with someone he believed to be 15-years-old, will now be going to prison for a long time. This is a good day for justice!"

This matter was investigated by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, U.S. Department of Homeland Security - Homeland Security Investigations, and Livingston Parish Sheriff's Office. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Edward H. Warner, who also serves as Lead Homeland Security Task Force Trial Attorney, and Special Assistant United States Attorney Allen Ross.

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 also 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. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department's Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).