Dustin Lee Seitz, Traveling for Illicit Sexual Conduct with Minors, Louisiana 2026

A Gulfport man has pleaded guilty to traveling with the intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct with a minor in Louisiana.

Dustin Lee Seitz, 40, of Gulfport, Mississippi, pleaded guilty on March 2, 2026, to traveling with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2423(b), announced U.S. Attorney David I. Courcelle.

According to the bill of information, Seitz traveled by car from Gulfport, Mississippi, to Mandeville, Louisiana, for the purpose of engaging in sexual conduct with an individual that Seitz believed to be a 15-year-old female.

Seitz faces a maximum term of imprisonment of 30 years, at least 5 years of supervised release, up to a $250,000 fine, and a $100 mandatory special assessment fee. He may also be required to register as a sex offender.

U.S. District Judge Darrel James Papillion set Seitz's sentencing for October 20, 2026.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice.

U.S. Attorney Courcelle praised the work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in investigating this matter. Assistant United States Attorney Kathryn McHugh of the Financial Crimes Unit is in charge of the prosecution.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-edla/pr/gulfport-man-guilty-travelling-purpose-engaging-illicit-sexual-conduct-minors