Iberia Parish Man Sentenced for Traveling to North Carolina to have Sex with a Minor

LAFAYETTE, La. – United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced today that a New Iberia man was sentenced to 210 months in prison for traveling to North Carolina in order to have sex with a minor.

Ray Paul Dionne, 55, of New Iberia, La., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Richard T. Haik on one count of traveling with the intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct with a minor. He was also sentenced to a lifetime of supervised release. 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.

“One of our top priorities in this District is protecting children,” Finley stated. “This case should send a message that Louisiana is not a safe haven for those who exploit children.  The U.S. Attorney’s Office, along with our federal, state and local law enforcement partners, will continue to investigate and prosecute this type of activity to the fullest extent of the law.”

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.projectsafechildhood.gov.