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A 45-year-old part-time elementary school worker, charged with sending a text message to meet a 13-year-old girl for sex, will go on trial the week of Aug. 22.
Douglas John Lopez of Ahuimanu entered a plea of not guilty Monday morning on a charge of first-degree electronic enticement of a child, a class B felony that carries a penalty of a mandatory 10-year prison term.
An Oahu grand jury indicted Lopez Thursday.
His trial will be before Circuit Judge Michael Wilson.
Before his arrest, Lopez worked one hour, two days a week as a part-time school lunch supervisor at Benjamin Parker Elementary School, and also worked as a Bishop Museum security guard.
It is the second Hawaii case in which the victim was a child — not an undercover agent — according to the state Attorney General’s Office.
Lopez allegedly contacted a 13-year-old girl using a cellphone text message and arranged to meet her for sex.
He is free on $40,000 bail.
Lopez was arrested May 19 at the Kaneohe Zippy’s restaurant. The indictment was a result of efforts by the Hawaii Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, which includes the Department of the Attorney General, Honolulu Police Department, U.S. Attorney’s Office and FBI.
The first case in the state in which a person was indicted for the crime involving a child instead of an undercover officer occurred on Maui in 2006. This is the first such prosecution by the state Attorney General’s Office.
Lopez’s is the 37th first-degree electronic enticement case in Hawaii.