Authorities extradited the man from Guatemala in 2013 for a sexual assault that he committed nearly a decade ago
TRENTON - A man who sexually assaulted a coworker and a family member before fleeing to Guatemala nearly a decade ago was sentenced to prison Thursday.
Pablo Lopez, 40, was sentenced to a total of four years in prison Thursday for two separate offenses that prosecutors say occurred over a decade ago.
Lopez, who is undocumented and has three children in Guatemala, came to the United States in 1997.
In 2004, Lopez was working at a deli in Lawrence Township and had "inappropriate sexual contact," with a 15-year-old coworker, Judge Robert Billmeier said Thursday.
He continued to fly under the radar until 2006 when he forced himself on his teenage niece. The second sexual assault resulted in the girl getting pregnant, Billmeier said.
By the time the girl's mother found out about the assault and told police, Lopez had already fled the country, going back to his native Guatemala where he stayed until 2013.
Billmeier said Lopez worked as a taxi driver in Guatemala until authorities found him and he was extradited back to the United States.
ALSO: DNA links Guatemalan man to Lawrence sexual assault
Investigators were able to link Lopez to the 2004 sexual assault through DNA evidence after he returned to the states.
"I just want to ask forgiveness from this country. In this country you are given opportunities to do things that in our own country, we couldn't do," Lopez said by way of a translator during a court appearance Thursday. "Yet we do things that affect ourselves and other people."
Billmeier sentenced Lopez to three years in prison for the first assault and four for the second. He will serve the sentences concurrently.
If Lopez isn't deported when he's released, he will be placed on a lifetime supervised parole, Billmeier ordered.
Anna Merriman may be reached at amerriman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @anna_merriman Find The Times of Trenton on Facebook.
