Authorities today announced criminal charges against a 36-year-old Long Beach man accused of sexually exploiting a minor over the course of nearly two years.
Ivan Lozano was charged with enticing a minor victim to commit sexual acts and possession of child pornography, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced Tuesday morning.
The charges against Lozano come as part of eight child sexual exploitation cases involving nine defendants announced today by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles.
“Protecting our children from sexual exploitation is some of the most important work my office does,” said Martin Estrada, U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California. “For years, we have vigorously prosecuted child sexual predators, and we have only increased those efforts in recent times.”
Lozano, who is considered a fugitive and is being sought by the FBI, allegedly exploited a 14-year-old girl from Tanzania, in East Africa, by encouraging her to send him multiple videos and photos of her of a “sexual nature,” according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
According to a criminal complaint filed in federal court last week, Lozano began speaking with the teenager in December 2019 after commenting on one of her social media posts.
Around that time, their conversations involved talking about daily activities and the teen’s interests, according to the complaint.
By the following year, Lozano initiated a change in his relationship with the girl and began asking her for nude photos and videos, according to the complaint.
“In October 2021, according to the complaint affidavit, Lozano traveled to Tanzania for the purpose of having sex with the girl, which he recorded on video,” according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Eventually, the girl’s parents discovered her relationship with Lozano and cut off their communication, according to the complaint. The girl’s father then contacted the Los Angeles Police Department to report the crime, according to the complaint.
On July 21, 2022, FBI agents executed a search warrant at Lozano’s home in Long Beach, where he lived with his mother, according to the complaint. During their search of the home, authorities found five items considered evidence, including an iPhone containing explicit pictures of the teenage girl, in addition to more than 2,000 other videos depicting child sexual abuse, according to the complaint.
When authorities interviewed Lozano that day, he discussed his travels to Tanzania but declined to comment on his relationship with the teenage girl, according to the complaint.
Thom Mrozek, a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, said Lozano was not arrested when the search warrant was executed last summer because authorities first had to analyze the evidence and prepare to file the case. Lozano has been considered a fugitive since Friday, when the complaint against him was filed, because authorities weren’t able to locate him at that point, though Mrozek noted that officials “have good information that he has been in Long Beach fairly recently.”
Editor’s note: This story has been updated with more information from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
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