An El Salvadoran national in the country illegally allegedly molested young children at a church in Maryland several years ago.
From 2014 to 2018, Ervin Jeovany Alfaro Lopez allegedly assaulted at least four girls between the ages of 6 and 12 while teaching at Elim Gaithersburg church, which appears to be located in a townhouse-like structure in Derwood, Maryland, about 15 miles north of Bethesda. The alleged attacks occurred while the kids watched a movie or had their eyes closed for prayer, WUSA9 reported.
The first victim came forward to report the alleged abuse last May. Three others have come forward since then, and police suspect that other victims may still be out there.
Charging documents indicate that Lopez reported to his pastor at least one incident of abuse which was then “dealt with internally.” Pastor Bernal Osorio claimed that his church has cooperated with the investigation.
“We don’t know people’s hearts. At first we were shocked. How could this be possible? But as details came to light, we were outraged. I pity the people that make these decisions,” he said.
It is unclear whether Osorio is the pastor to whom Lopez reported.
Lopez, now 33, is originally from El Salvador. When he first came to the United States is unclear. However, he was arrested in Louisiana in 2015 for unlawful entry. He was released a short time later on $7,500 bond but, for reasons unknown, was not ordered to be deported until 2018. Despite that deportation order, he remained in the U.S.
Then, in January 2019, Lopez was arrested by ERO Baltimore, a local ICE subgroup. A few months later, a Baltimore judge granted Lopez his request to self-deport within 60 days, and it appears he left as promised.
He did not remain outside the country for long. In March 2020, he was arrested again for unlawful entry, this time in Rio Grande Valley, Texas. Officials immediately put him on track for an expedited removal, and he was deported weeks later.
He must have then re-entered the U.S. a third time because he was apparently arrested in Maryland last August and booked into Montgomery County Detention Center, where he remains without bond. He now faces more than a dozen counts of sexual assault, five of which relate to sexual abuse of a minor.
In a statement, ICE told WUSA9 that the agency had “tried to lodge an immigration detainer” on Lopez last year after the allegations against him were first reported, but the detention center did not cooperate with the agency’s request. Montgomery County Detention Center did not respond to the WUSA9’s request for comment.
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