Louisiana Man Sentenced to 10 Years for Attempted Enticement of a Minor

On May 2, 2022, United States Attorney Ronald C. Gathe, Jr. announced that U.S. District Judge Brian A. Jackson sentenced Jaime Aaron Sousa, age 28, of Ponchatoula, Louisiana, to 120 months (10 years) in federal prison following his conviction for attempted enticement of a minor. The Court further sentenced Sousa to serve a period of five years supervised release, which includes sex offender registration requirements, following his term of imprisonment.

According to admissions made during his plea, Sousa used a social media application in January 2021 to communicate with and sexually pursue an individual whom he believed to be a 13-year-old girl. Sousa sent sexually explicit messages and photographs to the purported minor throughout his communications. He also pressured the purported minor to send him sexually explicit photographs, and he coerced the purported minor to meet him to engage in sexual activity. Sousa then traveled to Baton Rouge with the intent of engaging in sexual activity with the alleged minor, where he was apprehended by federal and state law enforcement officials.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations, the Louisiana Bureau of Investigations, Louisiana State Police, and the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office all looked into the case. Assistant United States Attorney Jamie A. Flowers Jr., who also serves as Chief of the Criminal Division, prosecuted the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched by the Department of Justice in May 2006 to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Project Safe Childhood, led by US Attorneys’ Offices and CEOs, marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as identify and rescue victims. Please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc for more information on Project Safe Childhood.