A church teacher accused of sexually assaulting young girls in his parish was an illegal migrant who was deported twice, immigration authorities have revealed.
Ervin Jeovany Alfaro Lopez, 33, was charged with more than 20 counts of child sexual abuse and sexual offenses for allegedly molesting young girls ages six to 12.
Alfaro Lopez, an illegal immigrant from El Salvador, assaulted his victims between 2014 and 2018 while working as an instructor at a Christian church in Montgomery County, Maryland, according to police.
He was in the United States illegally at the time of the alleged attacks, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials told DailyMail.com, and was deported from the United States at least twice – once in 2015 and again in 2020.
Alfaro Lopez was arrested in Maryland last week on charges of sexual abuse of a minor, second-degree rape and two counts of third-degree sexual offense. He is currently being held without bail at the Montgomery County Central Processing Unit.
Ervin Jeovany Alfaro Lopez, 33, was charged with more than 20 counts of child sexual abuse and sexual offenses for allegedly molesting young girls ages six to 12.
Alfaro Lopez was working as an instructor and educational coordinator at Elim Misión Cristiana Church when he allegedly abused at least four young girls, including the daughter of the church’s pastor, according to court documents obtained by FOX 5 DC.
Victims reported that Alfaro López often engaged in his abuse while they prayed with their eyes closed, and that he touched them on and under their clothes.
The church’s pastor was informed of the abuse by his own daughter, according to the documents. The parents of the other victims would have known about it thanks to the confessions of the alleged attacker.
A parent told investigators he discussed the situation with the pastor and believed “the incident was resolved inside the church.” His daughter added that Alfaro López had “got into trouble” and “was no longer allowed to teach.”
Alfaro Lopez was first arrested by Border Patrol in Lake Charles, Louisiana, in March 2015 after entering the United States illegally, an ICE field office spokesperson told DailyMail.com in Baltimore.
He appeared before a federal judge in April of that year, was released on bail and is scheduled to appear before a Justice Department immigration judge in Baltimore, who ordered him removed from the country. He was deported in September 2016.
Alfaro Lopez was arrested again in January 2019, on apparently immigration-related charges, and was granted voluntary departure from the United States within 60 days on April 16. He left the country on April 30, 2019.
Border Patrol arrested Alfaro Lopez in the Rio Grande Valley region of Texas on March 9, 2020 after he again entered the country illegally. He was processed for expedited removal and deported on March 24.
It is unclear when he returned to the United States, but Montgomery County police arrested him in August 2023 on charges of second-degree rape and two counts of third-degree sexual offense.
An immigration detention order was issued against him the day of his arrest, but ICE says the Montgomery County Detention Center “refused to honor the order.”
Alfaro Lopez, an illegal immigrant from El Salvador, molested at least four young girls, including the pastor’s daughter, between 2014 and 2018 while working as an instructor at Elim Misión Cristiana Church (photo) in Montgomery County, according to police.
Alfaro López was released on August 11 last year. Less than a month later, the Montgomery County Circuit Court amended the charges against him to reflect a total of 12 counts of sexual assault dating back to November 2014.
The charges included six counts of third-degree sexual offense, one count of sexual abuse of a minor and five counts of second-degree sexual offense.
He was arrested again last week, on March 11, and faces 13 additional charges, five counts of sexual abuse of a minor and eight counts of third-degree sexual offense, for offenses allegedly involving took place between March 2016 and December 2018.
The Pacific Enforcement Response Center in California filed an arrest and deportation warrant against him. It is understood ICE is seeking to caution him once he has served his local sentence.
Meanwhile, Darius Reeves, director of ICE’s ERO field office in Baltimore, says Alfaro Lopez’s case is a “perfect example” of the “very tragic” situations that occur when “jurisdictions n ‘don’t honor our detainees’.
“Counties can’t continually recycle armed gang members, child molesters, rapists, accomplices to murder, you can’t continually allow that to happen,” he said. FOX 5.
“Please stop recycling these egregious offenders in your communities and not honoring an ice holder, in my opinion, is an obstruction of federal law enforcement efforts.”
DailyMail.com has reached out to ICE, the Elim Misión Cristiana Church and the Montgomery County Police Department for comment.
According to the Border Patrol, agents “often encounter migrants entering the United States illegally who have already been deported due to prior criminal convictions.” The immigration authority is working to “hold these criminals accountable.” Pictured: Border Patrol agents working a case along the U.S.-Mexico border in Arizona in November 2022
Lopez Alfaro’s latest arrest comes as the Border Patrol reaffirmed its commitment to holding “criminals” accountable after more than a dozen migrants with criminal histories entered the United States illegally last month.
Agents in Texas and New Mexico apprehended more than 12 illegal immigrants with prior convictions and criminal histories in the El Paso area in February.
Those arrested included convicted sex offenders, child predators and drug traffickers, a Border Patrol news release revealed. Others had histories of illegal gun possession, assault, domestic violence, burglary and affiliation with gangs or drug cartels.
There is no indication that these individuals are related to Lopez Alfaro.
Border Patrol said agents “often encounter migrants entering the United States illegally who have already been deported with prior criminal convictions” and that officials will continue to work with the U.S. Attorney’s Office to “hold these criminals accountable.” .