The Lancaster County Sheriff’s Department arrested a man after a 17 year old girl reported that she was brought to Nebraska illegally. Captain Tommy Trotter they were contacted Tuesday morning by a social worker for Church World Service based in Houston, Texas.
CWS reported that they had been contacted by the girl who was living at a home near 35th and Saltillo Road and that she had been the victim of physical and sexual abuse. “34 year-old Alvaro Gomez-Lopez had entered the United States illegally about six months ago and recently entered into a financial agreement with some others in Guatemala to bring the girl here against her will,” Trotter says.
He says the girl arrived in Lancaster County on July 16. “Since that time he’s been forcing her to work outside the house doing construction type work and inside the home cooking and cleaning.” Trotter says Gomez-Lopez had forced her to do the work to repay the debt incurred for her transportation.
The girl also reported that she had not been given food for five days and investigators say she was subjected to sexual contact by Gomez-Lopez. “Deputies responded to the location, removed the victim and took her to safety,” Trotter says. The girl was taken to BraveBe Child Advocacy Center for a forensic interview and turned over to the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services for placement.
Gomez-Lopez was taken to the Lancaster County Adult Detention Facility and booked for felony child abuse and 3rd degree sexual assault. Trotter says they will apply for a visa so girl can stay in the United States until the case is over. “We’ve also been working with Immigration and Customs regarding Mr. Gomez-Lopez’s illegal status in the country.
(Photo: Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office)