Philly Man Trafficked, Sexually Assaulted Western PA Teen Girl: Police

PHILADELPHIA — A Philadelphia man has been accused of kidnapping, trafficking, and sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl, authorities in Westmoreland County said.

Greensburg City Police and the Westmoreland County District Attorney’s Office said Angel Lopez, 19, of Philadelphia, is charged with kidnapping a minor, trafficking, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse of a person less than 16, unlawful contact of a minor, interference with child custody, statutory sexual assault, aggravated indecent assault of a child, sexual abuse of a child, corruption of minors, and criminal use of a communication facility.

Authorities said a statewide effort ensured the victim, a 13-year-old girl, made it home.

Agencies including Greensburg City Police, the Westmoreland County District Attorney’s Office, Pennsylvania State Police, Philadelphia Police’s Special Victims Unit, and the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Child Predator Unit were integral to this investigation.

A search warrant was executed at Lopez's apartment in Philadelphia where he was taken into custody by the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Child Predator Unit under the direction of Attorney General Dave Sunday.

Greensburg Police were notified of a missing 13-year-old girl on March 14.

Lopez is accused of instructing the girl to leave a note that said she was running away from home and told her family to not look for her.

Police pinged the victim’s phone to an address near Ogontz Street in Philadelphia.

Philadelphia Police found the victim shortly thereafter and took her to a nearby precinct to await a relative’s arrival.

Authorities said she was in contact with Lopez for only four days through TikTok before she was trafficked and assaulted across the state.

Lopez arranged for the victim to come to Philadelphia and paid for an Uber to pick up the victim from Greensburg and taken her to his apartment in Philadelphia.

GPS coordinates provided by Uber through a search warrant confirmed the transport from Greensburg to Philadelphia, with the destination ending near his apartment.

When the victim arrived in Philadelphia, he told her to turn off her phone, offered her drugs, and sexually assaulted her, according to authorities.

After the assault, Lopez told the girl to shower to wash his DNA off of her, authorities said.

She was able to escape Lopez's apartment after she heard someone outside in the hallway and believed it was her means of getting to safety, according to authorities.

With the help of the digital forensic analyst in the Westmoreland County District Attorney Office, investigators retrieved data from the victim’s devices detailing the exorbitant number of messages exchanged between the victim and the defendant, including graphic videos, authorities said.

The case against Lopez is ongoing.