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Orlando Lopez is set to spend the next two decades in prison.
By Michael V. Cusenza
A Jamaica man has copped to sexually abusing a little girl from the time she was just 6 years old to well after her 9th birthday, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced Friday.
Orlando Lopez, 54, pleaded guilty on Thursday to course of sexual conduct against a child in the first degree. Sentencing is slated for April 24, at which time Lopez will be ordered to prison for 19 years, followed by 10 years’ post-release supervision. Lopez will also be required to register as a sex offender.
According to the charges, on Sept. 23, 2014, Lopez first engaged in a sexual act with the victim, who was 6. For more than three years, Lopez touched the youngster with his genitals, performed sex acts on her, used various sex toys on the child and forced the girl to touch him, as well. On various occasions, Lopez also photographed the girl without her clothes on and recorded videos of himself abusing the victim.
“The defendant has now admitted to years of sexual contact with the victim—a little girl who was just 6 years old when this adult man began abusing her. The defendant violated the victim in numerous ways for more than three years,” Katz added.
If the name sounds familiar, it’s because Lopez was featured in last week’s edition of The Forum. Earlier this month, Lopez was charged with sexually abusing numerous young children and possessing child pornography, according to federal prosecutors. A 12-count indictment was filed in federal court in Brooklyn officially charging Lopez with travelling across a state line with intent to commit aggravated sexual abuse of a child, sexual exploitation of a child and possession of child pornography.
According to the indictment and other court filings, for over a decade, Lopez repeatedly sexually abused more than a dozen children, many of whom lived near his 105th Avenue residence. Between approximately May 2010 and June 2018, Lopez produced thousands of explicit photos and videos of one female child who was 2 years old when the abuse began. Law enforcement also recovered thousands of other photos and videos from Lopez’s home depicting him engaging in sexual activity with children.
In July 2018, Lopez transported one 7-year-old girl across state lines with the intent to sexually abuse her. In order to gain access to his victims, Lopez attempted to befriend their parents.
“The conduct alleged here is horrendous. 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. Readers should be stunned into action by an investigation like this,” said FBI New York Assistant Director-in-Charge Bill Sweeney, Jr.
The government’s investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information about sexual exploitation by Lopez is asked to contact the FBI at (800) CALL-FBI.
