Poughkeepsie Convicted Rapist Arrested in Orange County After Online Sting Targeting Minor

A registered sex offender with a prior rape conviction walked into a federal trap in Orange County believing he was about to meet a 14-year-old for sex. Louis West, 50, of the Town of Poughkeepsie, was arrested Tuesday after FBI agents operating undercover had been communicating with him online and arranging the encounter.

West faces three federal charges: attempted sexual exploitation of a minor, coercion and enticement of a minor, and committing a felony offense involving a minor as a registered sex offender. Together, those charges carry a statutory minimum sentence of 35 years in federal prison and a maximum of life.

According to the criminal complaint, West communicated online with someone he believed to be a 14-year-old, negotiated a sexual encounter, and then traveled to an Orange County location to follow through. When he arrived, he spoke with an undercover agent, displayed condoms, and entered the location where he expected to find the minor. Agents arrested him there.

A search that followed turned up covert recording equipment: a hidden-camera alarm clock and a pair of video-recording eyeglasses. The devices suggest West arrived intending to document the encounter and now represent additional forensic evidence in the federal case against him.

U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton, whose office announced the arrest March 31, did not soften his characterization of the conduct. "There are few crimes as horrific as the sexual exploitation of our children, particularly in cases like this one where the defendant has a history of sexual violence," Clayton said. "New York families have zero tolerance for this conduct, and we are acting on their behalf."

West was charged by federal criminal complaint, and the U.S. Attorney's Office will determine whether to pursue a formal indictment through a grand jury. Given his status as a registered sex offender and the gravity of the charges, prosecutors are expected to seek pretrial detention. The case marks a direct use of Orange County as the operational ground for a federal undercover sting, with the full weight of a 35-year mandatory minimum now pressing down on a Dutchess County man who crossed county lines to find a child.