FRESNO – The Kingsburg Police Department was recently involved in a case with the FBI and Central California Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force to help uncover details about Thomas Henry Lopez, who has been charged with sexting two minors in Kingsburg.
A federal grand jury returned a four-count indictment on Sept. 12, charging Thomas Henry Lopez, 49, of Spring, Texas, 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, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.
According to a press release from the U.S. Department of Justice, Lopez purported to be a 12-year-old male from Texas and requested that the victims create and then send to him still and video images of themselves engaged in sexually explicit conduct. While communicating with the victims, Lopez sent them images of adults and minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct as well as images of himself masturbating.
Lopez’s case was investigated by the FBI and the Central California Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, with major involvement from the Kingsburg Police Department (KPD). According to court documents, between June 2024 and July 2024, Lopez contacted two minors in California through TikTok and then communicated with them through text messages and the encrypted application JusTalk.
“One of the parents found some of the images and they notified us. So that’s when we started our investigation,” Lieutenant Jose Salinas from KPD said.
Investigators were able to identify Lopez by determining that he was using internet connections at his residence and at his Houston workplace, where he was the principal wells engineer for an oil and gas company when communicating with the victims. The FBI assisted the investigation by getting more information from the apps that Lopez was using to contact the victims.
Salinas explained that most of the investigation was conducted by officers with KPD since the victims were in Kingsburg. Salinas oversaw the unit that investigated the case and was able to identify two different victims in Kingsburg.
“They (the FBI) just assisted us because they have the means of helping on these kind of cases, since they cross state lines,” Salinas said.
FBI agents arrested Lopez on Sept. 3, just as he was leaving on a work-related trip to Singapore, and numerous electronic devices were recovered during a search of his residence. He will appear before a federal magistrate judge in Houston, Texas, on Sept. 13.
“They could still change it and bring the case back to California…At this point right now, he was arrested and booked in Houston.” Salinas said.
If convicted, Lopez faces a mandatory minimum of 15 years in prison and a maximum statutory penalty of 30 years in prison as well as a fine of up to $250,000 for the counts of sexual exploitation of children and a mandatory minimum of five years in prison; alternatively, he is also facing a maximum of 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 for distribution of a visual depiction of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct.
The case is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney David L. Gappa. If convicted of the transfer of obscene material to a minor count, Lopez also faces a maximum of 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. Any sentence, however, would be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.
These guidelines take into account a number of variables. The charges are only allegations; the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend and prosecute those who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims.
For more information about Project Safe Childhood, visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. Click on the “resources” tab for information about internet-safety education. Anyone who may have any more information on this case can reach out to the number 559-897-2931.
“I’m sure he didn’t do it just to these kids here,” Salinas said. “If there’s any other victims or people that may have been in contact with this guy – get a hold of us.”
