Dorchester Man Arrested for Attempted Child Sex Trafficking

BOSTON – A Dorchester man has been arrested for allegedly attempting to sex traffic a 14-year-old child. 

Carlos Lopez, a/k/a Rene Carlos Arias-Lopez, 27, was charged with the attempted sex trafficking of a minor. Lopez was arrested on Sept. 25, 2023 and held pending a detention hearing scheduled for Oct. 5, 2023 in federal court in Boston. 

According to the charging documents, on June 1, 2023, police responded to a 911 call reporting that a 14-year-old was in danger at an apartment in Dorchester where she was drinking alcohol with an older man. At the apartment, it is alleged that the minor victim was found in Lopez’s bed, wearing a red sweatshirt and no pants or underwear and heavily intoxicated. Lopez was allegedly seated next to the victim, fully clothed with a beer in his hand. When the minor victim exited the bedroom, Lopez allegedly closed and locked the door on uniformed officers – barricading himself in the room for approximately 20 minutes. Upon gaining entry to the room, law enforcement allegedly located multiple empty beer bottles as well as female shorts and underwear near Lopez’s bed. It is alleged that, during a brief on-scene interview, the victim indicated that she did not know who took her pants off or when they came off, just that when she woke up her pants were no longer on. 

Lopez allegedly indicated that he had been introduced to the victim by another person so that he could engage in sexual intercourse with her. Specifically, it is alleged that Lopez agreed to pay this person $100 in exchange for sex with the victim. Lopez allegedly indicated that he did not actually complete any sex act on the victim before law enforcement arrived. A subsequent investigation allegedly revealed that Lopez had provided the victim with multiple alcoholic beverages before bringing her up to his bedroom and offering to pay her for sex.  

The charge attempted sex trafficking of a minor provides for a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and up to life in prison, up to five years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

If you or someone you know may be impacted or experiencing commercial sex trafficking, please contact USAMA.VictimAssistance@usdoj.gov. 

Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy; Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox; and Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Riley, Chief of the Human Trafficking & Civil Rights Unit and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica L. Soto of the Major Crimes Unit are prosecuting the case.

The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.