Miami, Florida — Fabio Lopez, 62, of Weston, Florida was sentenced last week by a federal district judge in Fort Lauderdale to 10 years in federal prison and a lifetime of supervised release for enticing a minor to engage in sexual activity.
According to court documents, Fabio Lopez, a former officer with Customs and Border Protection, enticed a 16-year-old child into attempting to produce child pornography. Lopez met the child after befriending her mother while on duty in his official capacity at Miami International Airport. From July 2019 through March 2020, Lopez had a relationship with the child and texted her frequently. According the factual proffer filed, Lopez fondled the child and offered her money in exchange for letting him take pornographic images of her. Lopez was arrested in Davie when he arrived to meet with the child. Prior to his arrival, Lopez had rented a local hotel room for the two and left a bag with lingerie for the child to wear.
The Miami Herald reported: The police brought in agents with Homeland Security Investigations, who carried out an undercover operation. During a recorded call on the girl’s cellular phone, she told Lopez that “she was frightened by his touching her,” the affidavit says. Lopez asked for her forgiveness and said “it would never happen again.” He also “admitted to touching [her] vagina.”
In a videotaped interview after his arrest, Lopez told agents that “he had reserved a hotel room to take [the girl] back to,” put her “favorite foods and lingerie” in the room, and that “he intended to take photographs of [her] wearing the lingerie with the camera on [her] cellular telephone.”
Juan Antonio Gonzalez, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Anthony Salisbury, Special Agent in Charge, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Miami Field Office, announced the sentence.
