A Nicaraguan man, Elias Luis Herrera, aged 47, has pleaded guilty to the forcible sexual assault of a 15-year-old girl aboard a cruise ship that departed from Galveston in 2003, as announced by federal prosecutors on Monday.
After evading law enforcement for over two decades, Herrera formally entered his guilty plea regarding the 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.
The incident took place in the early hours of July 17, 2003. Court documents reveal that Herrera, along with another crew member, Edgerton Phillip Medford, targeted the young victim as she walked near a pool on the ship. Prosecutors detailed that the two men forcibly restrained her by grabbing her arms and pinning her to a deck chair. Despite her cries for help, both men proceeded to sexually assault her, taking turns while removing their uniforms.
In 2004, a federal grand jury indicted Herrera, but he managed to escape capture. While on another cruise, he fled from authorities in Cozumel, Mexico, and subsequently made his way to Costa Rica. He remained a fugitive for more than 20 years until Costa Rican officials apprehended him, leading to his extradition to the United States in October 2025.
Judge Lake accepted Herrera’s guilty plea and has scheduled his sentencing for September 18. He faces a potential maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison and a fine that could reach $250,000. Herrera will remain in federal custody until the sentencing hearing.
Co-defendant Medford was extradited to the U.S. nearly two decades ago in 2007. He previously pleaded guilty to his involvement in the assault and was subsequently deported to St. Vincent and the Grenadines after serving his prison sentence.
