Three men are facing federal charges after an FBI undercover operation in the New Orleans area targeted people who allegedly tried to arrange sexual encounters with minors, according to prosecutors. The accused are Richard Jackson White, 46, of Purvis, Mississippi; Nicholas John Engolia, 32, of Slidell, Louisiana; and Dustin Lee Seitz, 40, of Gulfport, Mississippi. Each case involves a separate incident in which the men allegedly believed they were meeting a 15-year-old girl, and authorities say the charges include travel-with-intent counts as well as an indictment for attempted coercion and enticement.
According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Louisiana, Engolia allegedly began communicating online on or about January 28 and continued through March 3, 2026, with someone he believed was a 15-year-old. He is accused of driving from Slidell to Covington to meet that person. The indictment charges him with attempted coercion and enticement under 18 U.S.C. § 2422(b) and attempted transfer of obscene material to a minor under 18 U.S.C. § 1470. Prosecutors say the complaints and indictments in the three cases were filed between March 27 and April 28, 2026.
Court documents state that White traveled from Purvis, Mississippi, to Louisiana on or about February 24 and was charged by bill of information with travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct. Seitz is accused of driving from Gulfport to Mandeville between March 2 and March 4 and faces the same federal travel charge, according to WGNO.
Slidell officer among those charged
Engolia is a 10-year corrections officer with the Slidell Police Department, a detail that has added an extra layer of fallout to the case. Interim Chief Daniel Seuzeneau told WDSU the department has begun the process to terminate Engolia and called the alleged conduct a “betrayal of the badge.” Seuzeneau told the station that investigators believe Engolia was intercepted before his behavior could escalate and that he was arrested without incident.
Legal penalties
Prosecutors say Engolia faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison and up to life on the coercion and enticement charge, along with up to 10 years on the obscene material charge. White and Seitz each face as much as 30 years in prison if convicted on the travel count. All three defendants also face at least five years of supervised release, fines of up to $250,000, a $100 special assessment per count, and possible sex offender registration. “Indictments and bills of information are merely charges and the guilt of each defendant must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in its release.
Investigation and next steps
Officials say the cases are part of Project Safe Childhood, a Department of Justice initiative that coordinates federal, state and local efforts to combat child sexual exploitation. Authorities are asking anyone with information related to these or similar activities to contact the FBI tip line at 1-800-CALL-FBI or submit a tip online at tips.fbi.gov. More information on the federal initiative is available through Project Safe Childhood.
