A man who lured his 11-year-old neighbor into a van outside her Lake Worth Beach home and sexually assaulted her there will spend more than 40 years in prison for the crime.
Marvin Perez Lopez, 22, pleaded guilty July 7 to kidnapping, sexually battering and molesting the girl. Prosecutors say he stopped the assault only after the child’s mother appeared at the van window, demanding to know what was going on inside.
Neither the child nor her mother spoke at the West Palm Beach hearing. Before pleading guilty, Lopez told Circuit Judge Sarah Willis he was dissatisfied with his attorney, Assistant Public Defender Ashley Johnson.
“I want her to fight for me and investigate everything,” Lopez said with the help of a Spanish interpreter. “I want her to fight for me and lower the amount of the years (in prison), to investigate better until the end.”
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Asked repeatedly if he wished to maintain his innocence and fight the charges at trial, Lopez said no. A conviction there could have meant life in prison on the kidnapping charge alone.
Willis sentenced him to 43.5 years in prison with credit for 795 days’ time served. She also declared him a sexual predator, subject to deportation upon his release from prison. At the time of his arrest, the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office said Lopez was undocumented.
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The child, a sixth-grader who told deputies she enjoys math and art classes, said she was playing outside between 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. on May 2, 2024, when Lopez took hold of her hand and told her to get inside of a “big, dirty van.” She did.
“It scared her,” a deputy wrote later in Lopez’s arrest report. “He touched her and she didn’t like it.”
She said she’d known Lopez since he moved from Guatemala into their apartment complex last year. Once inside the van, the girl said Lopez kissed her and tried to take her clothes off. She said she pushed him away and got out of the van, only to be grabbed again and pulled back inside.
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The girl said Lopez continued to kiss and sexually assault her despite her demands to stop. She pointed to a drawing of a gingerbread man to describe to deputies exactly what he did to her and where.
The child’s mother appeared beside the van and hit it with her hand, at which point Lopez ran from the car. The child stepped out after him, her legs bloodied and bare. Her mother brought the girl inside and bagged her clothes before walking back out to confront Lopez.
According to his arrest report, Lopez said he was sorry for what he’d done and asked her to forgive him. She declined and called PBSO instead.
Deputies knocked on Lopez’s apartment door shortly before midnight. According to his arrest report, Lopez snuck out of a window at the back of the home and led authorities on a chase. When they could not find him, deputies returned to the home and interviewed Lopez’s brother and sister-in-law.
The couple said Lopez “did something with the girl next door.” They said he’d promised to become the child’s boyfriend if her mother allowed it. If she was pregnant, he said he’d care for the child, too.
Correction: An earlier version of this article said Lopez must serve 25 years before he can qualify for early release. He must serve 25 years before gain time becomes a possibility.
If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, the Palm Beach County Victim Services and Rape Crisis Center can help. Reach their helpline at 561-833-7273, or toll-free at 866-891-7273.
Hannah Phillips covers criminal justice at The Palm Beach Post. You can reach her at hphillips@pbpost.com. Help support our journalism and subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Lake Worth neighbor sentenced for snatching girl, molesting her in van
Reporting by Hannah Phillips, Palm Beach Post / Palm Beach Post
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Hannah Phillips, Palm Beach Post | USA TODAY Network
