Iberia Parish Man Pleads Guilty To Traveling To North Carolina To Have Sex With Minor

LAFAYETTE, La. – A New Iberia man pleaded guilty to traveling to North Carolina in order to have sex with a minor, U.S. Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced today.

Ray Paul Dionne, 55, of New Iberia, La., pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Richard T. Haik, to one count of travel with the intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct. According to evidence presented at the guilty plea, Dionne admitted that he traveled to North Carolina on two occasions in June and August of 2012 to engage in sexual contact with a minor under the age of 12.  On August 27, 2012, when law enforcement learned that Dionne was staying at a North Carolina residence, they entered the residence and discovered Dionne lying in bed with the child.

Dionne faces five to 30 years in prison, five years to life of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine.  A sentencing date has not been set.

The Iberia Parish Sheriff’s Office, Boiling Point Springs Police Department, Brunswick County Sheriff’s Office, and the U.S. Marshal’s Service conducted the investigation.  Assistant U.S. Attorney John Luke Walker is prosecuting the case. 

This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, a U.S. Department of Justice nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.  Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, 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.