Suspect arrested in first child enticement case involving 'live victim'

By Minna Sugimoto - bio | email

KANEOHE (HawaiiNewsNow) - Members of the Hawaii Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force say they prevented a real girl from becoming a sex assault victim Thursday. Agents arrested a man on suspicion of first-degree electronic enticement of a child in what they describe as their first case involving a "live victim."

Douglas Lopez, 45, is accused of sending sexually-explicit cell phone text messages to a 13-year-old girl, and then arranging to hook up with her in person.

Officers say they were aware of the plan and were waiting in the parking lot of Zippy's near Windward Mall Thursday morning, when the suspect arrived in his Dodge Charger. The car stayed, while its driver was taken into custody.

Lopez is a security guard at the Bishop Museum. Sources say he got off work at 8 AM and headed straight to the meeting place.

He was still wearing his uniform when he was escorted into the Honolulu Police Department's Alapai cellblock.

Sources say his alleged victim is a real eighth grader, who went to her mother for help after she began receiving the text messages Easter weekend. The mother reportedly was in a relationship with the suspect at the time.

Previous enticement cases involved suspects communicating with undercover officers who were posing as children on the Internet.

The suspect is also a lunch supervisor at Benjamin Parker Elementary in Kaneohe. The school says Lopez works two days a week overseeing students during lunch period while their teachers are taking a break.

The school's principal declined comment saying he didn't have all the information, and that the arrest didn't involve the campus.

The Bishop Museum released this statement:

"While the incident did not take place at Bishop Museum, our workplace policy does not tolerate any form of violence, including verbal or written attacks. Guest safety is of utmost importance to the museum. We have immediately suspended the guard in question while we investigate the situation, and we will cooperate with any investigation being conducted by the police department."

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