HENRICO COUNTY, Va. — The man accused of traveling from Stafford to Henrico with a teddy bear to try to have sex with a five-year-old girl accepted a plea deal Tuesday.
Louis Ponterio, 55, entered an Alford plea to charges of rape, object sexual penetration by forced, solicitation of a minor for prostitution, two counts proposing sex to a minor when offender was 7 years older than minor, and two additional charges.
Louis Ponterio
In February 2015, police said Louis Ponterio showed up at an East End motel with a teddy bear and sex toys thinking a prostitute was going to allow him to have sex with her daughter.
Investigators said there was no child and it was part of a sex sting operation.
Court documents show a local prostitute was cooperating with detectives and federal agents to uncover people trying to have sexual contact with minors. The documents said Ponterio asked the prostitute if she had any children. She told him that she had a five-year-old.
Federal agents, along with Virginia State and Henrico Police were waiting for Ponterio at an Econo Lodge in eastern Henrico.
Agents seized marijuana, a teddy bear, cough syrup, Hershey’s kisses, a sex toy and other items from Ponterio, law enforcement sources told CBS 6.
Ponterio will be sentenced on July 13.
