A resident of Alvin, Texas, has been sentenced to 30 years in federal prison for transportation and possession of child sexual assault material (CSAM). The U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani announced the sentencing of 46-year-old David Lopez Jr., who pleaded guilty on June 27, 2024.
U.S. District Judge Jeffrey V. Brown imposed a sentence of 360 months for each of the two transportation counts and 120 months for each of the two possession counts, to be served concurrently, resulting in a total term of 360 months. The court considered Lopez's criminal history and his ongoing sexual interest in children dating back to 2014.
Judge Brown noted that Lopez committed these offenses while he was already registered as a sex offender due to convictions from 2006 for sexual assault and indecency with a child. Victim impact statements were read during the proceedings, highlighting how Lopez's actions affected minors whose images and videos he collected.
Lopez is also ordered to pay restitution to his victims and will face supervised release for life after completing his prison term. This supervision includes restrictions on internet access.
“This is an individual who has a deep-seated sexual interest in children that cannot be deterred,” said Hamdani. “After two decades of sexually exploiting children by his hands-on offenses and trading child pornography, he must be stopped."
Chad Plantz, Special Agent in Charge at Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Houston, stated: “With today’s sentencing we have removed a dangerous predator from the community who has shown absolutely no remorse for his heinous actions.”
Lopez first came under law enforcement scrutiny in 2016 when it was discovered he used social media platforms to distribute CSAM files between February 19, 2016, and January 14, 2020. He was arrested in February 2020 for failing to comply with sex offender registration requirements and admitted to viewing child pornography at that time.
A search warrant executed on Lopez’s phone revealed numerous explicit images and videos involving young children subjected to various forms of abuse. Despite serving time for non-compliance with registration requirements and drug possession charges, Lopez resumed distributing CSAM until his arrest again in October 2022.
The investigation involved Homeland Security Investigations - Galveston along with local law enforcement agencies including Pearland Police Department, Houston Metro Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, and Brazoria County Sheriff’s Office.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Kimberly Ann Leo prosecuted the case under Project Safe Childhood (PSC), an initiative launched by the Department of Justice aimed at combating child exploitation through coordinated efforts among federal, state, and local resources.