Houston man indicted for sexual exploiting minors, accused of pretending to be 12-year-old boy

HOUSTON - A Spring man was indicted on four charges related to the sexual exploitation of children, it was announced on Thursday.

The U.S. Attorney's Office reports 49-year-old Thomas Henry Lopez is charged with two counts of sexual exploitation of children, one count of distribution of a visual depiction of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct, and one count of transfer of obscene material to a minor.

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Between June and July 2024, Lopez is accused of messaging two minors in California through TikTok and later texting them through JusTalk pretending to be a 12-year-old boy from Texas, court documents state. He asked the girls to send him images and videos of them doing sexually explicit actions. Lopez also sent sexually explicit images of adults, including himself, to the girls.

Lopez was identified by the FBI due to him using the internet connection at his home and workplace, where he was a principal wells engineer for oil and gas company, to talk to the victims.

He was arrested on Sept. 3as he was leaving to a work trip in Singapore. The FBI reportedly seized various devices during a search of his home.

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Lopez is expected to appear before a federal magistrate judge in Houston on Friday.

If convicted, Lopez, faces a minimum 15 years in prison and a maximum statutory penalty of 30 years in prison with a possiblefine of up to $250,000 for the sexual exploitation of children charges and a  minimum of five years in prison with a maximum of 20 year sentence and a fine of up to $250,000 for distribution of a visual depiction of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct. If convicted of the transfer of obscene material to a minor count, Lopez could receive a maximum of 10 years in prison and with a possible fine of up to $250,000.