Man found guilty of child sex assaults

NORRISTOWN » A Lansdale man potentially faces decades in prison after a jury convicted him of charges he sexually assaulted an 11-year-old girl and had indecent contact with a second girl, a 5-year-old, while they were in his company.

Carlos Lopez-Vanegas, 29, of the 100 block of East Mount Vernon Street, was convicted in Montgomery County Court of charges of rape of a child, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, indecent assault and aggravated indecent assault of a child in connection with his contact with the 11-year-old girl.

The jury that deliberated about

four hours after a four-day trial also convicted LopezVanegas of a charge of indecent assault in connection with his conduct with the 5-year-old girl. The jury couldn’t reach a verdict on charges of aggravated indecent assault as it pertained to his contact with the 5-year-old.

Additionally, the jury

convicted Lopez-Vanegas of charges of endangering the welfare of children and corruption of minors as those charges pertained to both girls.

Judge William R. Carpenter deferred sentencing until later this year and Lopez-Vanegas will remain in the county jail without bail to await his sentencing hearing. Lopez-Vanegas, a native of Nicaragua who was legally residing in the U.S., faces a potential maximum sentence of 144 to 288

years in prison.

Lopez-Vanegas knew the girls’ families and the inappropriate conduct occurred while the girls were in his company at various times in Lansdale between 2015 and 2017.

“The defendant took his position of authority and trust with these children in order to violate his duty of care to them by violating those children in just about every way imaginable and stealing from them their childhoods,” said Assistant

District Attorney Kristen J. Kemp.

Kemp characterized the girls as “incredibly brave and strong” as they testified against their abuser.

“It was incredibly painful for both of them to come forward for different reasons. But they both were able to get their stories out to the jury in such a way that the jurors were able to see the defendant for who he really was, as opposed to who he pretended to be,” Kemp added.

Co-prosecutor Brianna Ringwood vowed to seek a lengthy prison term against Lopez-Vanegas.

“The commonwealth in this case will be seeking a very lengthy state prison sentence that will keep the community and other children safe from a man who has been convicted of being a child predator,” Ringwood said.

Lopez-Vanegas, who was represented by defense lawyer Christopher Koschier, did not testify during the trial.

The two girls testified during the trial and the jury also viewed recorded interviews the girls gave to child social workers during the investigation. In addition to the sexual contact, Lopez-Vanegas also showed the girls pornography at different times while they were in his company, according to testimony.

The case was investigated by Lansdale Detective Nicholas Oropeza and Police Officer Joel Greco.