The husband of a Roseville-based home day care provider was found guilty of sexually assaulting three children cared for at the site.
A Ramsey County District Court jury reached the verdict in Edgar Noe Lopez-Monter’s case after about four hours of deliberation Friday.
The 44-year-old faced charges of both first and second-degree criminal sexual conduct. Jurors found him guilty on both counts.
He was taken into custody following the verdict. His attorney, Christopher Keyser, could not be immediately reached for comment.
Police began investigating Lopez-Monter after receiving a report in August 2017 that a 6-year-old had asked her day care provider, Joy Lopez, to tell her husband to stop kissing her, legal documents say.
The girl and her 9-year-old sister later told their mother that Lopez-Monter had been kissing them for years when his wife wasn’t present, the complaint said.
The 9-year-old also said Lopez-Monter fondled her on multiple occasions dating back to when she was 6.
The girl reported that Lopez-Monter asked her not to tell anybody about the conduct and said he loved her, according to legal documents.
Another child told someone at her school that Lopez-Monter had exposed himself to her and masturbated in her presence when she formerly was in Lopez’s care.
Lopez ran a day care in the couple’s home on the 300 block of Judith Avenue in Roseville.
Her day care license has since been revoked, according to records provided by the Minnesota Department of Human Services.
An investigation by the department found that sexual abuse of children by someone required to have a background study had taken place while under Lopez’s care, according to the Order for Revocation issued in June.
It also found that one of the sexual assaults had taken place while the day care provider was sleeping.
Until her revocation, Joy Lopez had been a licensed day care provider with a clean record since 2006.