A federal jury in Baltimore has convicted 39-year-old Jose Adan Lopez-Guevara in a deeply disturbing child exploitation case that prosecutors say spanned nearly a decade and left a digital trail of abuse across the internet. Yesterday, jurors found him guilty on 14 counts of sexual exploitation of a child and one count of possession of child sexual abuse material, after a federal investigation uncovered hundreds of illicit images and videos involving young victims.
Prosecutors told jurors the abuse occurred between 2015 and 2024 and involved three victims who were between 2 and 11 years old. Evidence at trial included images and videos that the government says Lopez-Guevara produced, and some of that material later surfaced on the dark web, according to FOX45 News.
How investigators say they tracked the material
Homeland Security Investigations agents in Portland, Maine, reportedly spotted previously unseen videos online in December 2024 and traced one victim to Maryland, which prompted a referral to HSI in the state. Investigators executed multiple search warrants on Dec. 12, 2024, and located Lopez-Guevara with two cell phones; forensic analysis of those devices uncovered additional images of abuse involving the same victim and evidence related to two other minors, according to Casemine.
What prosecutors showed at trial
At trial, the government presented images and videos it said were produced by Lopez-Guevara and offered testimony about files stored on a phone tied to an encrypted messaging application. Jurors heard that hundreds of images and videos were recovered and that some of the material had been circulating on underground networks. The court scheduled sentencing for July 28 at 11 a.m., as reported by FOX45 News.
Penalties and prosecution
Each count of sexual exploitation of a child carries a statutory minimum of 15 years and up to 30 years in federal prison, while the possession count carries a maximum of 20 years, according to the U.S. Attorney’s announcement when the case was originally charged. The prosecution was brought as part of the Department of Justice’s Project Safe Childhood initiative and coordinated with Homeland Security Investigations and local partners; news reports name Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul E. Budlow as the prosecutor in the case, per Federal Newswire.
Background and what’s next
The case first drew public attention when a grand jury returned an indictment in January 2025, which local outlets covered at the time. Earlier reporting detailed the initial charges and how federal authorities built the case, and Friday’s guilty verdict marks the most significant development since that coverage, with the matter now headed back to federal court for sentencing in July. earlier coverage of the indictment.
