Church teacher charged with sexually assaulting girls as young as six at Maryland church was an illegal migrant who was deported twice, ICE reveals

A church teacher accused of sexually abusing young girls in his parish was an illegal migrant who was deported twice, immigration authorities have revealed.

Ervin Jeovany Alfaro Lopez, 33, has been charged with more than 20 counts of sexual abuse and sexual offenses against minors for allegedly assaulting young girls between the ages of six and 12.

Alfaro Lopez, an illegal immigrant from El Salvador, abused his victims between 2014 and 2018 while working as an instructor at a Christian church in Montgomery County, Maryland, police said.

He was in the US illegally at the time of the alleged attacks, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials told DailyMail.com, and has been removed from the US at least twice: once in 2015 and again in 2020.

Alfaro Lopez was arrested last week in Maryland on charges including sexual abuse of a minor, rape in the second degree and two counts of sex offense in the third degree. He is currently being held without bond at the Montgomery County Central Processing Unit.

Alfaro Lopez was working as an instructor and education coordinator at Elim Misión Cristiana Church when he allegedly abused at least four young girls, including the church pastor’s daughter, according to court documents obtained by FOX 5 DC.

The victims reported that Alfaro Lopez often carried out his abuse while they were praying with their eyes closed and said he would touch them over and under their clothing.

The church pastor was informed of the abuse by his own daughter, the documents state. The parents of the other victims reportedly found out through a confession from the alleged attacker.

One parent told investigators he discussed the situation with the pastor and believed the “incident had been handled within the church.” His daughter added that Alfaro Lopez had “got into trouble” and was “not allowed to teach anymore.”

Alfaro Lopez was first arrested by Border Patrol in Lake Charles, Louisiana, in March 2015 after illegally entering the U.S., a spokesperson for ICE’s Baltimore field office told DailyMail.com.

He appeared before a federal judge in April of that year, was released on bail and ordered to appear before a Justice Department immigration judge in Baltimore, who ordered his removal from the country. He was deported from the country in September 2016.

Alfaro Lopez was arrested again in January 2019 on apparent immigration-related charges and was granted a voluntary departure from the US within 60 days of April 16. He left the country on April 30, 2019.

Border Patrol caught Alfaro Lopez on March 9, 2020, in the Rio Grande Valley region of Texas after he re-entered the country illegally. He was processed for expedited removal and deported on March 24.

It is unclear when he returned to the U.S., but Montgomery County police arrested him in August 2023 on charges of rape in the second degree and two counts of sex offense in the third degree.

An immigration detainer was issued against him on the day of his arrest, but ICE claims the Montgomery County Detention Center “refused to execute the warrant.”

Alfaro Lopez, an illegal immigrant from El Salvador, attacked at least four young girls, including the pastor’s daughter, between 2014 and 2018 while she worked as an instructor at Elim Misión Cristiana Church (pictured) in Montgomery County, police say

Alfaro Lopez was released on August 11 last year. Less than a month later, the Montgomery County Circuit court amended the charges against him to reflect a total of 12 counts of sexual assault dating back to November 2014.

The indictment included six counts of third-degree sex offenses, one count of sexual abuse of a minor and five counts of second-degree sex offenses.

He was arrested again last week, on March 11, and faced 13 more charges, five counts of sexual abuse of a minor and eight counts of third-degree sex offenses, for crimes that allegedly occurred between March 2016 and December 2018.

The Pacific Enforcement Response Center in California has filed an immigration detention and removal order against him. It is understood that ICE will attempt to take custody of him once he has completed his local sentence.

Meanwhile, Darius Reeves, the director of ICE’s ERO Baltimore Field Office, says Alfaro Lopez’s case is a “perfect example” of the “very tragic” situations that occur when “jurisdictions disrespect our detainees.”

“Counties can’t continually recycle gang members with guns, child molesters, rapists, complicit in murders, you can’t continually allow this to happen,” he said. FOX 5.

“Please stop recycling these egregious offenders back into your community and not honoring an ice keeper, in my opinion, is a hindrance to the efforts of federal law enforcement.”

DailyMail.com has reached out to ICE, Elim Misión Cristiana Church and the Montgomery County Police Department for comment.

Border Patrol says agents often encounter “migrants entering the U.S. illegally who have previously been removed following prior criminal convictions.” The immigration service is doing everything it can to ‘hold these criminals accountable’. Pictured: Border Patrol agents handling a case along the U.S.-Mexico border in Arizona in November 2022

Lopez Alfaro’s latest arrest comes as Border Patrol reaffirmed its commitment to “hold criminals accountable” after more than a dozen migrants with criminal histories illegally entered the US last month.

Agents in Texas and New Mexico arrested more than a dozen illegal immigrants with prior criminal convictions and histories in the El Paso region in February.

Those arrested included convicted sex offenders, child predators and drug traffickers, according to a Border Patrol news release. Others had a history of illegal firearms possession, assault, domestic violence, burglary and ties to gangs or drug cartels.

There is no indication that these individuals are connected to Lopez Alfaro.

Border Patrol said agents often encounter “migrants entering the United States illegally who have previously been removed following prior criminal convictions” and that officials will continue to work with the U.S. Attorney’s Office to “hold these criminals accountable.”