Kingsburg PD Helps FBI in Online Predator Case

FRESNO – Kingsburg police recently joined forces with the FBI and the Central California Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force to uncover details about Thomas Henry Lopez, who has been charged with sexting with two minors in Kingsburg.

On September 12, a federal grand jury returned a four-count indictment charging Thomas Henry Lopez, 49, of Spring, Texas, with two counts of sexual exploitation of children, one count of dissemination of a visual depiction of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct and one count of transmission 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 posed as a 12-year-old Texas boy and solicited victims to take and send him photos and videos of themselves engaging in sexually explicit behavior. While communicating with the victims, Lopez sent them images of adults and minors engaging in sexually explicit behavior, 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 significant involvement from the Kingsburg Police Department (KPD). According to court documents, between June 2024 and July 2024, Lopez contacted two minors in California via TikTok and then communicated with them via text messages and the encrypted application JusTalk.

“One of the parents found some of the images and alerted us, and that’s when we started our investigation,” said KPD Lt. Jose Salinas.

Investigators were able to identify Lopez by determining that he used internet connections at his home and at his workplace in Houston, where he was a lead well engineer for an oil and gas company, when he communicated with the victims. The FBI assisted the investigation by obtaining more information from the apps Lopez used to contact the victims.

Salinas explained that the majority of the investigation was conducted by officers from the KPD, since the victims were located in Kingsburg. Salinas oversaw the unit investigating the case and was able to identify two different victims in Kingsburg.

“They (the FBI) ​​only assisted us because they have the resources to assist with these types of cases since they cross state lines,” Salinas said.

FBI agents arrested Lopez on Sept. 3, just as he was leaving for a work-related trip to Singapore, and numerous electronic devices were found during a search of his home. He is scheduled to appear before a federal magistrate judge in Houston, Texas, on Sept. 13.

“They could still change it and move the case back to California… Right now he’s been arrested and booked in Houston,” Salinas said.

If convicted, Lopez faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison and a statutory maximum sentence of 30 years in prison, plus a fine of up to $250,000 for child sexual exploitation and a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison. Alternatively, he also faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 for distributing 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 transferring obscene material to a minor, Lopez also faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. However, any sentence will be determined at the discretion of the court after considering all applicable statutory factors and the federal sentencing guidelines.

These guidelines take into account a number of variables. The charges are merely 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 U.S. Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Abuse and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to investigate, 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 on internet safety education. Anyone with more information about this case can call 559-897-2931.

“I’m sure he didn’t just do it to these kids here,” Salinas said. “If there are other victims or people who may have come in contact with this man — please contact us.”