El Paso Man Sentenced to Federal Prison on Child Enticement Charge

In El Paso today, 37–year-old Salvador Lopez of El Paso was sentenced to 125 months in federal prison followed by five years of supervised release for attempting to entice a minor into engaging in sexually explicit conduct announced United States Attorney Richard L. Durbin, Jr., and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Special Agent in Charge Waldemar Rodriguez, El Paso Division.

On August 21, 2015, Lopez pleaded guilty to the enticement charge.  By pleading guilty, Lopez admitted that in April 2013, he engaged in sexually explicit communications, with whom he believed to be a 14-year-old female, in an attempt to coerce and entice her into having unlawful sexual intercourse.

Lopez has remained in federal custody since his arrest on May 1, 2013, when he arrived to a pre-arranged meeting with the minor who turned out to be an undercover agent.

This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ian Hanna and Robert White.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice.  Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.