{"id":5425,"date":"2026-06-24T17:01:07","date_gmt":"2026-06-24T17:01:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/?p=5425"},"modified":"2026-06-24T17:01:07","modified_gmt":"2026-06-24T17:01:07","slug":"former-cruise-ship-worker-pleads-guilty-to-teen-sexual-assault-after-20-years-on-the-run","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/?p=5425","title":{"rendered":"Former cruise ship worker pleads guilty to teen sexual assault after 20 years on the run"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\"gavel\"<\/figure>\n article<\/span><\/div>
<\/div> <\/div>

A Nicaraguan national who spent more than 20 years fleeing federal authorities has pleaded guilty to the forcible sexual assault of a 15-year-old girl on a cruise ship that departed from Galveston, federal prosecutors announced Monday.<\/p>

Read more Trump calls for investigation into gas price gouging<\/a><\/p>

Guilty plea after 20 years<\/strong><\/h2>

Elias Luis Herrera, 47, entered a guilty plea to sexual abuse of a minor before U.S. District Judge Sim Lake, according to Acting U.S. Attorney John G.E. Marck for the Southern District of Texas.<\/p>

<\/div>

The backstory:<\/p>

The charges stem from an incident in the early morning hours of July 17, 2003. According to court records, Herrera and a fellow crewman, Edgerton Phillip Medford, were working aboard the vessel when they targeted the teenage victim as she walked near a shipboard pool.<\/p>

Prosecutors said the two men grabbed the 15-year-old by her arms, forced her down, and pinned her to a deck chair. Despite the victim screaming throughout the assault, both men removed their uniforms and took turns sexually abusing her.<\/p>

Read more Earthquake rattles West Texas town<\/a><\/p>

A federal grand jury indicted Herrera in 2004, but he managed to evade capture. While on a subsequent cruise, Herrera fled from law enforcement in Cozumel, Mexico, later making his way to Costa Rica. He remained an international fugitive for more than two decades until his arrest by Costa Rican authorities and subsequent extradition to the United States in October 2025.<\/p>

Sentencing scheduled<\/strong><\/h2>

What’s next:<\/p>

Judge Lake accepted Herrera’s guilty plea and scheduled sentencing for Sept. 18. Herrera faces up to 20 years in federal prison and a maximum fine of $250,000. He will remain in federal custody pending his sentencing hearing.<\/p>

Herrera\u2019s co-defendant, Medford, was extradited to the United States nearly two decades ago in 2007. Medford previously pleaded guilty to his role in the assault and was deported to St. Vincent and the Grenadines following the completion of his prison sentence.<\/p>

Read more Delta CEO Ed Bastian reveals what he says must happen for airline ticket prices to fall<\/a><\/p> <\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Nicaraguan national who spent more than 20 years fleeing federal authorities has pleaded guilty to the forcible sexual assault of a 15-year-old girl on a cruise ship that departed from Galveston, federal prosecutors announced Monday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5423,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,3,14,12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5425","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-crime-and-public-safety","category-galveston","category-immigration","category-texas"],"yoast_head":"\nFormer cruise ship worker pleads guilty to teen sexual assault after 20 years on the run - Houston Moving Journal<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/?p=5425\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Former cruise ship worker pleads guilty to teen sexual assault after 20 years on the run - Houston Moving Journal\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A Nicaraguan national who spent more than 20 years fleeing federal authorities has pleaded guilty to the forcible sexual assault of a 15-year-old girl on a cruise ship that departed from Galveston, federal prosecutors announced Monday.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/?p=5425\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Houston Moving Journal\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-24T17:01:07+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/45c7440156e3817be8b213ab6817b876.webp\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"764\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"432\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/houstonmovingjournal.com\\\/?p=5425#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/houstonmovingjournal.com\\\/?p=5425\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/houstonmovingjournal.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/e51740aab7bd577378c5f91b003a39ba\"},\"headline\":\"Former cruise ship worker pleads guilty to teen sexual assault after 20 years on the run\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-24T17:01:07+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/houstonmovingjournal.com\\\/?p=5425\"},\"wordCount\":350,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/houstonmovingjournal.com\\\/?p=5425#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/houstonmovingjournal.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/970c35e2abefdc5a4b36ac5ec76032a7.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"Crime and Public Safety\",\"Galveston\",\"Immigration\",\"Texas\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/houstonmovingjournal.com\\\/?p=5425#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/houstonmovingjournal.com\\\/?p=5425\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/houstonmovingjournal.com\\\/?p=5425\",\"name\":\"Former cruise ship worker pleads guilty to teen sexual assault after 20 years on the run - Houston Moving Journal\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/houstonmovingjournal.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/houstonmovingjournal.com\\\/?p=5425#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/houstonmovingjournal.com\\\/?p=5425#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/houstonmovingjournal.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/970c35e2abefdc5a4b36ac5ec76032a7.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-24T17:01:07+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/houstonmovingjournal.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/e51740aab7bd577378c5f91b003a39ba\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/houstonmovingjournal.com\\\/?p=5425#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/houstonmovingjournal.com\\\/?p=5425\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/houstonmovingjournal.com\\\/?p=5425#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/houstonmovingjournal.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/970c35e2abefdc5a4b36ac5ec76032a7.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/houstonmovingjournal.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/970c35e2abefdc5a4b36ac5ec76032a7.webp\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":630},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/houstonmovingjournal.com\\\/?p=5425#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/houstonmovingjournal.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Former cruise ship worker pleads guilty to teen sexual assault after 20 years on the run\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/houstonmovingjournal.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/houstonmovingjournal.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Houston Moving Journal\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/houstonmovingjournal.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/houstonmovingjournal.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/e51740aab7bd577378c5f91b003a39ba\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/houstonmovingjournal.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/houstonmovingjournal.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Former cruise ship worker pleads guilty to teen sexual assault after 20 years on the run - Houston Moving Journal","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/?p=5425","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Former cruise ship worker pleads guilty to teen sexual assault after 20 years on the run - Houston Moving Journal","og_description":"A Nicaraguan national who spent more than 20 years fleeing federal authorities has pleaded guilty to the forcible sexual assault of a 15-year-old girl on a cruise ship that departed from Galveston, federal prosecutors announced Monday.","og_url":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/?p=5425","og_site_name":"Houston Moving Journal","article_published_time":"2026-06-24T17:01:07+00:00","og_image":[{"width":764,"height":432,"url":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/45c7440156e3817be8b213ab6817b876.webp","type":"image\/webp"}],"author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/?p=5425#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/?p=5425"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/#\/schema\/person\/e51740aab7bd577378c5f91b003a39ba"},"headline":"Former cruise ship worker pleads guilty to teen sexual assault after 20 years on the run","datePublished":"2026-06-24T17:01:07+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/?p=5425"},"wordCount":350,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/?p=5425#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/970c35e2abefdc5a4b36ac5ec76032a7.webp","articleSection":["Crime and Public Safety","Galveston","Immigration","Texas"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/?p=5425#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/?p=5425","url":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/?p=5425","name":"Former cruise ship worker pleads guilty to teen sexual assault after 20 years on the run - Houston Moving Journal","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/?p=5425#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/?p=5425#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/970c35e2abefdc5a4b36ac5ec76032a7.webp","datePublished":"2026-06-24T17:01:07+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/#\/schema\/person\/e51740aab7bd577378c5f91b003a39ba"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/?p=5425#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/?p=5425"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/?p=5425#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/970c35e2abefdc5a4b36ac5ec76032a7.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/970c35e2abefdc5a4b36ac5ec76032a7.webp","width":1200,"height":630},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/?p=5425#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Former cruise ship worker pleads guilty to teen sexual assault after 20 years on the run"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/","name":"Houston Moving Journal","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/#\/schema\/person\/e51740aab7bd577378c5f91b003a39ba","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com"],"url":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5425","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5425"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5425\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5423"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5425"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5425"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5425"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}