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LIVINGSTON PARISH, La. (WAFB)— A man caught in a 2025 sting operation involving Chris Hansen and the Livingston Parish Sheriff’s Office pleaded guilty in federal court.
William Alexander Ruiz-Ponce, 28, pleaded guilty to attempted coercion and enticement of a minor. He was one of the men caught in last year’s series of videos walking into a trap set by law enforcement.
Ponce admitted to sending pictures of his genitals to an undercover agent who he believed to be a 14-year-old girl. He was arrested after driving from Covington to an agreed upon location where he thought he would be taking place in sexual acts with a minor.
According to authorities, Ponce is a Honduran national residing in the U.S. without authorization.
“Every time we’ve done one we usually have several that we arrests who are internationals from other countries. So it’s pretty common,” said Sheriff Jason Ard.
126 arrests in 2025, 21 so far this year
According to an LPSO spokesperson, in 2025, LPSO made 126 arrests tied to child enticement and internet crimes. This year, they’re at 21 already.
Statewide cyber tips are on pace to reach 90,000 by the end of the year, according to a spokesperson with the State Attorney General’s office.
Locally, Ard said his team is constantly working to find the best information to lure people in and get them behind bars. Sometimes, they find more than they are digging for.
“So far we have identified 81 victims that were unknown to parents and law enforcement. So to explain that, through our investigations when we arrest these individuals and we capture their device and do our search warrants on all the social media platforms and find that this individual may have been having a sexual relationship with an underage child. The parents didn’t know anything about it, neither did law enforcement because it’s never been reported, we identified 81 of those. That’s a big deal,” Ard said.
“Whenever you work really hard, make a good case, turn it over to prosecution, and to see it work is really big to us,” Ard said.
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