Honduran National Lesli Joel Calix-Sarmiento Indicted in Louisiana for Attempted Enticement of a Minor and Illegal Reentry
New Orleans, Orleans Parish, Louisiana — The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Louisiana announced that Lesli Joel Calix-Sarmiento, 36, a Honduran national, was charged in a two-count indictment on October 23, 2026, with attempted coercion and enticement of a minor and illegal reentry of a removed alien. U.S. Attorney David I. Courcelle announced the indictment.
According to Count 1 of the indictment, between August 27 and August 28, 2026, Calix-Sarmiento persuaded and enticed an individual he believed to be a fifteen-year-old female to engage in illegal sexual activity, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2422(b). According to Count 2, on or about August 28, 2026, Calix-Sarmiento was found in the United States after having been deported and removed on August 27, 2013, February 11, 2014, and March 11, 2014, without the consent of the Attorney General or the Secretary of Homeland Security to reapply for admission, in violation of Title 8, United States Code, Section 1326(a). Through a partnership between state and federal authorities, the U.S. Attorney's Office adopted the state charges and is now federally prosecuting Calix-Sarmiento.
If convicted of Count 1, Calix-Sarmiento faces a mandatory minimum of ten years and up to life in prison, at least five years and up to a lifetime of supervised release, and sex offender registration. If convicted of Count 2, he faces up to two years in prison and up to one year of supervised release. On each count he also faces up to a $250,000 fine and a $100 mandatory special assessment. U.S. Attorney Courcelle reiterated that the indictment is merely a charge and that the guilt of the defendant must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, the Louisiana Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force and the Assumption Parish Sheriff's Department, and was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood. Assistant United States Attorney Mary Anne Flippo is in charge of the prosecution.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 照片：美国路易斯安那州 New Orleans 市天际线（Justin Watt 摄，经 Wikimedia Commons，公共领域，资料图）
