Navy sailor pleads guilty after trying to arrange sex acts with a 10-year-old

NORFOLK, Va. - A Virginia Beach man pleaded guilty today to attempting to persuade, induce, entice, and coerce a minor to engage in sexual activity.

According to court documents, on Jan. 17, Petty Officer First Class Vicente Muniz, Jr, 35, contacted a person he believed was the father of a 10-year-old child through a social media app. Muniz set up a meeting to engage in sex acts with the child. Muniz explained that he was supposed to meet another minor that day, but the minor stopped responding. Later that day, when Muniz attempted to meet with the purported parent and 10-year-old, he was arrested by law enforcement.

Muniz is scheduled to be sentenced on July 19. He faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison and a maximum penalty of life in prison. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Brian Dugan, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office, made the announcement after U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert J. Krask accepted the plea.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Megan M. Montoya and Anthony Marek are prosecuting the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorney’s Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (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.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:24-cr-8.