BRIDGEPORT, CT — A 45-year-old Bridgeport man was arrested Friday morning on multiple charges stemming from the alleged sexual assaults of four children between the ages of 3 and 12, according to Bridgeport police.
Jose Lopez was taken into custody at his Hallett Street home by the Bridgeport Police Department's Special Victims Unit, with assistance from the Fugitive Unit and Patrol Division.
The arrest was part of an investigation dubbed "Operation Cola," a reference to Lopez's street name, "Cola," police said.
Lopez was arrested on an active felony warrant charging him with four counts of risk of injury to a minor, four counts of fourth-degree sexual assault, three counts of illegal sexual contact with a minor, three counts of enticing a minor, two counts of threatening, and one count each of first-degree kidnapping, first-degree unlawful restraint and commercial sexual abuse involving an agreement to pay for sexual acts.
He is being held in lieu of bail of $2 million.
According to police, the alleged assaults occurred between June and October at Lopez's Hallett Street home and a residence on Trumbull Avenue where members of his family live. The locations are in Bridgeport's East Side and North End neighborhoods.
"Lopez told police he worked going door to door cutting lawns," Bridgeport Police Det. Jeffrey Holtz wrote in a statement. "Some of the victims stated he offered them money and gifts to help him, and then sexually assaulted them. Some victims stated Lopez forced them to watch pornography."
Bridgeport Police Chief Roderick Porter was scheduled to hold a news conference Friday afternoon to discuss the arrest.
Police said that Lopez was convicted of Illegal Sexual Contact in a Bridgeport case in 2005. He served time in prison, and was on the Sex Offender Registry for a period of time.
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