An Undocumented Migrant Arrested for Alleged Sexual Assault of 11-Year-Old Girl in Florida
A 20-year-old Guatemalan native, Marvin Perez Lopez, was arrested in Florida over the weekend for allegedly sexually assaulting an 11-year-old girl in his van. Lopez, who was cut loose in the US after illegally crossing the border, confessed to snatching the girl from outside her home in Lake Worth and forcing her into his vehicle last week, as reported by the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office.
The girl’s mother reportedly found Lopez attacking the girl when she went looking for her daughter outside their apartment building. After the mother started banging on the van windows and screaming for help, Lopez, who lived in the same building as the victim, fled the scene, according to CBS12.
Law enforcement officers later caught Lopez attempting to escape through a back window of his home and fleeing into an alleyway. He was apprehended on Saturday and charged with kidnapping to sexually assault a minor, sexual assault of a victim under 12, and resisting an officer.
Lopez had entered the US illegally by crossing the US-Mexico border in early January and was released, with an immigration court date set for 2027, according to the sheriff’s office. Sheriff Ric Bradshaw expressed frustration over the situation, stating, “Here’s a Guatemalan, who came into the country illegally was stopped by the border people released, and made his way to South Florida. And now he commits a crime where he held an 11-year-old girl against her will and sexually assaulted her.”
Bradshaw emphasized that Lopez would face trial for his crimes in the US before any deportation proceedings. Lopez is currently held at the Palm Beach County jail without bond.
