A sexual predator who terrorized children in his Jamaica neighborhood for more than a decade will likely spend the rest of his days in prison.
On Friday, Orlando Lopez, 66, was sentenced at the Brooklyn federal courthouse to 55 years of imprisonment on nine counts of child exploitation and one count of possession of child pornography. Lopez was also ordered to pay restitution to his victims. Lopez pleaded guilty to the charges last July.
According to court filings and admissions made in court, beginning in 2008, and for more than a decade, Lopez raped and sexually exploited children who lived at or near his apartment building in Jamaica and took videos and photographs of the abuse.
Lopez typically abused his victims in his apartment or their residences, but on occasion abused them in other locations, including a local YMCA facility. During the sexual abuse, Lopez sometimes attempted to distract his child victims by providing them with candy or toys, according to federal prosecutors.
“The defendant raped and sexually abused numerous vulnerable children, many of them infants and toddlers, for his own gratification,” U.S. Attorney Breon Peace said. “Although today’s lengthy sentence cannot undo the harm that he inflicted on the victims and their families, it represents some measure of justice for his horrific crimes and ensures that no more children will suffer at the hands of this predator.”
Law enforcement recovered approximately 13,000 files of child pornography from Lopez’s residence depicting sexual activity with at least 15 child victims, some of whom were infants when the abuse began. Lopez distributed some of the child pornography he created to others, according to federal prosecutors.
The prosecution was part of the Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child exploitation and abuse.
“The conduct for which Mr. Lopez was convicted is among the most depraved our experienced investigators have ever encountered,” FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Michael J. Driscoll said. “Prior to law enforcement intervention, he raped and sexually exploited children, some of whom were infants when their abuse began, for more than a decade. Today’s sentence ensures he will never harm another child, and our hope is that it brings some measure of comfort to his victims and their families as they continue their recovery from the harm he inflicted upon them.”
