Tag: sexual abuse of a minor

A teacher at a church in Derwood, Maryland, has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for sexually abusing four minors who were under his care at the church, the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office announced Monday.

Ervin Alfaro-Lopez, 34, of Germantown, pleaded guilty in February to one count of sexual abuse of a minor and three counts of third-degree sexual offense. The charges stem from crimes against four young children during the time span of 2014-18, when the defendant was employed as a teacher at a church located in the 15700 block of Crabbs Branch Way in Derwood.

Charging documents provide detailed accounts from the four victims, stating Alfaro-Lopez was able to get the victims separated from other students to abuse them. In one case, Alfaro-Lopez directed a student to sit on his lap before abusing her while the rest of the kids were watching a movie during midnight mass, according to charging documents.

In other cases, charging documents state Alfaro-Lopez would abuse students while everyone’s eyes were closed during prayer.

The abuse was first reported to the authorities in 2023, when a 14-year-old girl reported being abused by Alfaro Lopez when she was six. The victim reported that before telling her parents, she told her best friend and that friend told her that she had also been abused by Alfaro-Lopez.

In the course of the investigation into these two victim’s cases, police identified two additional victims.

Alfaro-Lopez was sentenced to 55 years in prison, with all but 20 years suspended. Once released, he will be on five years of probation and will be required to register as a sex offender for life.

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