A pastor who is presently being detained by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has been sentenced to two years for sexually abusing a 14-year-old at his church.
Jose Luis Lopez-Hernandez, a 52-year-old pastor of Ministerio Jesus Liberta Church in Covington, Kentucky, was sentenced Monday by Kenton County Circuit Judge Kate Molloy.
In addition to the sentence, Lopez-Hernandez was also required to complete court-mandated treatment, register as a sex offender for 20 years and stay away from the victim, reports The Cincinnati Enquirer.
Lopez-Hernandez is being held on an immigration detainer by ICE, according to his attorney, Joshua McIntosh, reports the Enquirer, with the possibility that he will be deported.
In September 2023, after church, Lopez-Hernandez invited the victim and her cousin to his office upstairs, eventually asking that the cousin leave the room, with the cousin obliging.
From there, Lopez-Hernandez locked the office door and began to kiss and touch the 14-year-old victim inappropriately. She was able to push him away and left the room, telling her father about the incident.
Authorities were made aware of the incident soon after and began an investigation. Witnesses told the police that the teenage girl had a bruise on her neck from “aggressive kissing” that was not there before she entered the office, reports the Enquirer.
Meanwhile, Lopez-Hernandez traveled to California, purportedly for a church mission trip, with the expectation that he would soon return.
According to an October 2023 press release from the Covington Police Department, Lopez-Hernandez “skipped his return flight” from California, prompting police to issue an arrest warrant.
On Oct. 12, 2023, after Covington police reached out to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, federal authorities apprehended Lopez-Hernandez in Salinas, California, with the pastor being charged with sexual abuse in the first degree.
Last month, Lopez-Hernandez pleaded guilty to the charge in Kenton County court, with prosecutors expressing their intention to seek a 20-year sentence for the pastor.
