ALEXANDRIA, Va. — A federal judge convicted Mario Alexander Bonilla Canales, a 50-year-old illegal immigrant from El Salvador, on charges of attempted coercion and enticement of a minor to engage in illegal sexual activity, attempted sexual exploitation of a child, and illegally reentering the United States after removal subsequent to a felony conviction, the Department of Justice announced.
Bonilla Canales had been removed from the United States on at least three occasions pursuant to an order of removal before the conduct that led to his conviction. In June of 2025, he used Facebook to contact a person he believed to be a 14-year-old girl, who was actually an undercover law enforcement agent. Over three days, directly after the agent told him she was 14, Bonilla Canales aggressively requested sexually explicit images and asked her to meet for sex, according to court records and evidence presented at trial.
Bonilla Canales eventually traveled to a park in Fairfax County to meet the person he believed to be the minor. When police attempted to stop him, he fled the scene, damaging two police vehicles and ignoring lights and sirens.
He faces a mandatory minimum of 15 years in prison when sentenced on Sept. 23. A federal district court judge will determine the final sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Homeland Security Investigations in Washington, D.C., investigated the case with significant assistance from the Virginia State Police. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jacob Mercer and Colt Rainwater are prosecuting the case with assistance from Special Assistant United States Attorneys Lyndi McVey and Richard Krupczak.
The DOJ said the 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.” It is also part of Operation Take Back America, “a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations, and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.”
The case is filed as No. 1:26-cr-4 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. Sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 23.