Marathon Taxi Driver Arrested After Having Sex With Girl, 12: Authorities

Angel Lopez, 41, repeatedly had sex with her, the sheriff's office said

A Marathon taxi driver was arrested for having sex with a 12-year-old girl, the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office said.

The girl told Major Crimes Detective Geni Hernandez that she and Angel Lopez, 41, slept together multiple times from March 19-26 at his apartment on Shark Street, police said.

The girl said she met him after sneaking out of her mother’s home on Monday, March 19, and called a cab to pick her up from Walgreens. Lopez was the driver.
 
After his shift at work, he took her back to his apartment, where they engaged in sexual relations, the sheriff's office said, and their activity continued on subsequent nights.
 
The girl said Lopez was aware of her age, and at one point, told her he could get in trouble for having sex with her, according to the sheriff's office.
 
The girl ran away last Friday, and after telling Lopez, he agreed to let her stay at his apartment. Her mother reported her missing and detectives began to investigate, the sheriff's office said.
 
Friends of the girl told officials that they’d spoken with her, and that she said she was having sex with a man named Angel who lived on Shark Street, the sheriff's office said.
 
When Hernandez questioned Lopez, he admitted to having sexual relations with the girl, according to the sheriff's office.
 
Lopez was arrested Tuesday and charged with nine counts of lewd and lascivious behavior, and two counts of sheltering a minor without notifying a parent, according to sheriff's office records. No information on his court proceedings was available Wednesday.
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