The son of a Minneapolis police officer accused of threatening to kill his sister-in-law faces criminal charges after authorities in St. Paul say he stockpiled child pornography on his computer.
James John Lopez Jr., 32, was charged Wednesday with 20 felony counts of possession of pornographic work depicting a minor, according to the criminal complaint filed against him in Ramsey County District Court.
Officers executed a search warrant at his West Side home on April 21, 2017, after learning that his IP address had downloaded files containing child pornography, charges say.
Officers uncovered his laptop during their search and found 608 videos of suspected child pornography on the device, the complaint said.
When he was questioned, Lopez Jr. reportedly admitted to using his computer to download pornography from the “dark web” but said he “kept it adult” and that any images depicting children uncovered on his computer had been downloaded by mistake, authorities say.
He later admitted to using the word “pedo” and “young” in internet searches and said that while he had an interest in looking at child pornography, he would never inappropriately touch a child, the complaint said.
Files found on his computer were sent to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children for review and it was determined that more than 1,000 images and nearly 100 videos depicted victims of child sexual abuse, charges say.
Lopez Jr.’s father, James John Lopez is facing his own legal troubles in St. Paul.
The longtime Minneapolis police officer is accused of threatening to kill his sister-in-law while drinking at his family’s home on Sidney Street last October.
He pleaded not guilty to one count of threats of violence in March.
He and his wife, Kelleine Lopez, were divorced last spring after she filed for an order for protection against him alleging, among other things, that he previously threatened her with a gun.
Their son is expected to make his next court appearance in his own case in early October.
No attorney was listed for Lopez Jr. in court records and he could not be reached for comment.
Reached at her St. Paul home Wednesday afternoon, Kelleine said she was unaware of the charges facing her son.
“I’m shocked,” she said.
Lopez was relieved of duty from the Minneapolis Police Department after charges were filed against him, meaning he is still being paid but was no longer on active duty, according to police. The department also opened its own internal investigation.