A 45-year-old elementary school worker charged with electronic enticement of a child is the first person in Hawaii accused of committing the crime using a cellphone, cybercrime consultant Chris Duque said.

Duque said other enticement cases involved computers.

Parents need to be wary of to whom their children are talking or texting, Duque said. "You never know who you’re communicating with. Any time you have an (electronic) device, that device becomes a mask, a facade," he said.

Douglas John Lopez of Ahiumanu was indicted Thursday on a charge of first-degree electronic enticement of a child, a class B felony that carries a penalty of a 10-year mandatory prison term.

Lopez was arrested Monday afternoon. His initial arrest was May 19. He posted $40,000 bail and is scheduled to be arraigned June 20 before Circuit Judge Richard Perkins.

The indictment is a result of efforts by the Hawaii Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, that includes the Department of the Attorney General, Honolulu Police Department, U.S. Attorney’s Office and FBI.

At a news conference Monday, state Attorney General David Louie reminded parents to be vigilant as predators can reach children via their cellphone or computer. His message to predators: "Stop this. If you keep doing this, we’re going to find you, we’re going to prosecute you and it’s not going to be pretty."

The first case in the state where a person has been indicted for the crime involving a child instead of an undercover officer occurred in Maui in 2006. This is the first such prosecution by the state. Lopez is the 37th first-degree electronic enticement case in Hawaii. He allegedly sent explicit cellphone text messages to a 13-year-old girl and arranged to meet her for sex. On May 19 law enforcement arrested Lopez at the Kaneohe Zippy’s restaurant. He was released a short time later.

Lopez has worked part time as a lunch supervisor at Benjamin Elementary School in Kaneohe and as a security guard at Bishop Museum.

Tips for children and teens as well as advice for adults on how they can protect their children from predators on the Internet are available at the Hawaii Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force website at hawaii.gov/ag/hicac.