New York Man Pleads Not Guilty to Child Exploitation Offenses

Burlington, Vermont – The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont stated that on April 2, 2024, Jose Merino-Lopez, 28, of Latham, New York, pleaded not guilty to a two-count indictment that charges him with using a facility of interstate and foreign commerce to entice, persuade, and coerce a minor to engage in sexual activity for which a person could be held criminally liable, and with traveling interstate with a motivating purpose of engaging in illicit sexual conduct with another person. At today’s arraignment, United States Magistrate Judge Kevin J. Doyle ordered Merino-Lopez to be detained during pretrial proceedings.

According to court records and proceedings, in approximately July 2023, Merino-Lopez began communicating with a 14-year-old minor female victim (MV1) from Colchester, Vermont using various social media platforms. Merino-Lopez was living in New York when the communications with MV1 took place. On September 9, 2023, Merino-Lopez traveled from New York to Vermont, where he engaged in sexual intercourse with MV1 in a park in Colchester, Vermont.

United States Attorney Nikolas P. Kerest commended the investigatory efforts of the Colchester Police Department, Homeland Security Investigations, and the Vermont Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Barbara A. Masterson is handling the prosecution of Merino-Lopez. Merino-Lopez is represented by Assistant Federal Defender Steven L. Barth.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys' Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit Justice.gov/PSC.