A twice-deported Guatemalan national living in Dorchester has been sentenced to 13 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to unlawful reentry into the United States and possession of child sexual abuse material, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts.
Federal officials said 32-year-old Miguel Gomez-Lopez, also known as Miguel Hernandez, was sentenced April 9 by U.S. District Court Judge Angel Kelley. He will also serve five years of supervised release and faces removal proceedings after completing his sentence. He has been in custody since his arrest in June 2023.
Authorities said Gomez-Lopez had previously been ordered removed from the United States in September 2017 and was deported twice that year before reentering unlawfully.
The case began in June 2023 when Boston police conducted a welfare check involving a 14-year-old girl believed to be in danger at a Dorchester apartment. Officers found two missing 14-year-old girls at the residence. One was seen leaving the apartment with Gomez-Lopez as police arrived, while the other was located in a bedroom and appeared intoxicated and partially undressed, according to court records.
Investigators later determined that Gomez-Lopez had images and videos of one of the minors on his phone. A second individual was charged in connection with offenses involving the other minor and has since been deported, authorities said.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the Boston Police Department, with assistance from the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office. Federal prosecutors in Boston handled the case.
