A Jamaica man faces life in prison after being charged with possession of child pornography and sexual exploitation of a child, the FBI announced this week.
Orlando Lopez, 54, was charged with traveling across a state line with intent to commit aggravated sexual abuse of a child, sexual exploitation of a child and possession of child pornography on Wednesday, Feb. 6, according to Richard Donoghue, the United States attorney for the Eastern District of New York.
According to the FBI, Lopez repeatedly abused more than a dozen children, many of whom lived near his Jamaica home. Lopez’s alleged victims were as young as two-years old, Donoghue said.
In July 2018, Lopez transported a 7-year-old girl across state lines, intending to sexually abuse her, the FBI claims.
In order to gain access to his victims, Lopez, who produced thousands of photos and videos of his alleged crimes over the years, befriended the children’s parents, according to Donoghue.
“Mr. Lopez allegedly used friendships with his victims’ parents as a means to access children he wouldn’t generally have contact with, which leads us to believe there are more victims out there,” Sweeney said.
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz, who is about a month into her first term as DA, said holding predators accountable has been a long-time priority of hers.
“When I was a member of the Assembly, I authored legislation to hold pedophiles accountable for sexually abusing children,” Katz said. “Child predators will be held accountable and prosecuted as we work with our law enforcement partners to end the abuse of innocent children.”
Despite being charged, Lopez is still under FBI investigation as the bureau continues to search for his alleged victims.
According to Donoghue, if convicted, Lopez faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 30 years and a maximum of life in prison for the transportation charge and a minimum of 15 years and a maximum of 30 years in prison for the child exploitation charges.
