CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – A 29-year-old man has been ordered to federal prison following his conviction of sexual exploitation of a child, announced U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson. Edward Lopez Jr. pleaded guilty Oct. 17, 2016.

 

Today, Senior U.S. District Judge John D. Rainey took into consideration the testimony of a psychologist and the nature of the crime committed against the most vulnerable, an eight-year-old child, and handed Lopez a sentence of 326 months in federal prison. Additional information was also presented today, including a letter the victim had written to Lopez which was read in open court. In handing down the sentence, Judge Rainey stated that the crime Lopez committed was, indeed, a heinous crime. Lopez was further ordered to serve the rest of his life on supervised release following completion of his prison term, during which time he will have to comply with numerous sex offender prohibitions designed to restrict his access to children. He will also be ordered to register as a sex offender.

 

Lopez came to the attention of law enforcement after authorities learned of the sexual assault of a minor female child. The child was identified and confirmed the abuse and Lopez was identified as the perpetrator.

 

Authorities executed a search warrant at Lopez’s residence and seized several electronic media storage devices. Forensic examination of his cellular telephone resulted in the discovery of a video of the minor female child involved in sexually explicit conduct with the Lopez. Photographs of a minor female child involved in sexually explicit conduct were also found on his cellular telephone.

 

Lopez was arrested on the federal charges in February 2016 and has been in federal custody since that time where he will remain pending

transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

 

The FBI and Corpus Christi Police Department’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force conducted the investigation.

 

This case, prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Elsa Salinas and Brittany Jensen, was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."