A former police officer who sexually assaulted at least two teenage boys was sentenced this week to 20 years in federal prison, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Chad E. Meacham.
Delia Ruiz, an 31-year-old former officer with the Friona Police Department, pleaded guilty to enticement of a minor in January. She was sentenced on Wednesday by U.S. District Judge Matthew J. Kacsmaryk.
In plea papers, Ms. Ruiz admitted that began having sexual intercourse with her 16-year-old victim, identified in court documents as John Doe 2, in fall 2020, and continued the relationship through spring 2021, when the boy turned 17.
She further admitted that she began having sexual intercourse with her 15-year-old victim, John Doe 1, in spring of 2021 after meeting him at John Doe 2’s home.
She sent the child flirtatious messages and arranged to meet him in a church parking lot for sex in her car on at least three occasions. She sent him sexually explicit photos and videos of herself and warned him not to tell anyone about what they did because she could get into “big trouble.”
She was arrested in October 2021 and later fired from the Fiona Police Department.
The Texas Rangers, Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Dallas Field Office – Lubbock Resident Agency, and the Amarillo Police Department conducted the investigation with the complete cooperation of the Fiona Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Callie Woolam prosecuted the case with the help of Assistant U.S. Attorney Meredith Pinkham.