Virginia Man Sentenced to 87 Months for Attempted Coercion and Enticement

A Stafford, Virginia, man was sentenced today to 87 months in prison for attempting to coerce an individual to engage in unlawful sexual activity. 

Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Dana J. Boente of the Eastern District of Virginia and Supervisory Special Agent in Charge Darrell K. Gilliard of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) Washington, D.C., Field Office made the announcement.

Ricardo Cordero Torres, 43, pleaded guilty on Oct. 28, 2015, and was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Claude M. Hilton of the Eastern District of Virginia.  Torres will be required to register as a sex offender.

According to the plea agreement, in May 2015, Torres, a Defense Security Service employee, responded to a Craigslist ad posted by an undercover agent posing as a 13-year-old girl living on Marine Corps Base Quantico.  In June 2015, he communicated with her through online chat and e-mail, discussed sex with her and sent her a sexually explicit picture of himself.  On June 18, 2015, they planned to meet at a specific location on base, the defendant left his place of employment and was arrested shortly before arriving at the predetermined location. 

NCIS investigated the case.  Trial Attorney Lauren Britsch of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Angelissa Savino of the Eastern District of Virginia prosecuted the case.

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 www.justice.gov/psc.