93.3 KWTO Keeping Watch Over the Ozarks
A man from Oregon is in custody on child sex crime charges after he allegedly sexually assaulted a 13-year-old girl from Springfield.
Investigators say 26-year-old Sergio Lopez contacted the 13-year-old online, pretending to be a 17-year-old named David Leon.
The two exchanged messages for an unspecified amount of time. Then, in October of last year, he drove from his home in Oregon to Springfield.
Deputies with the Greene County Sheriff’s Office say Lopez picked up the girl at the corner of Bennett and Fort, drove her to a hotel, and sexually assaulted her.
He then returned home to Oregon, and was eventually arrested on March 7.
Lopez is charged with kidnapping and child sex crimes, both in the state of Missouri and in federal court for crossing state lines to commit the assault.