Two men charged in connection with Dorchester apartment where feds say underage girls were plied with Modelo and used for sex

Two men arrested by Boston Police on child-sex charges in June - and still held in a Suffolk County jail - were arrested again this week on federal charges related to the same incidents involving 14-year-old girls in an apartment in a Dorchester three decker.

One of the men, who convinced the two girls to come party with him and the other men living in the apartment on a regular basis was charged with sexual exploitation of children because of the videos and photos found on his phone showing one of the girls and him having sex and in topless poses. He now faces a federal sentence of between 15 and 30 years if convicted.

The other man, who lived in another room in the apartment and who allegedly convinced the other girl to down several bottles of Modelo beer one night, was charged with attempted sex trafficking of a child, because he allegedly offered to pay her and the first man $100 for the sex he was unable to consumate, according to affidavits of a Boston Police detective on the case. He now faces a possible prison sentence of between 10 years and life if found guilty.

According to the affidavit in his case, Miguel Hernandez, 29, connected with one of the girls via WhatsApp after a pal of his alerted him she had broken up with her boyfriend in April. He demanded to know why and then asked that they meet up, which they did. She told him she was 14; he said he was fine with that, and they began to hang out, according to the affidavit.

Photos and videos on two phones Hernandez had on him when he was arrested showed the pair having sex - with Hernandez apparently holding up his phone to record them in the act, the affidavit states.

Police arrested Hernandez on June 1, when they were called to the Aurora Street apartment he shared by the younger sister of the other girl, who reported her sister was in possible trouble because an "overage guy" was "laying" with her, according to the affidavits - which add that the first girl told investigators that there was nothing actually romantic between her and Hernandez, that he actually had a thing for the other girl.

However, when police arrived, around 12:30 a.m., they found Hernandez, another man and the first girl on the porch, trying to move a mattress out - Hernandez had found another place to live and was in the process of moving, one of the affidavits states, adding the girl appeared drunk and, when officers tried to talk to her, she instead went back into the three decker and up to the apartment.

Having not yet identified or ascertained the safety of MINOR 2, officers followed her inside of the residence and up to the third floor. MINOR 2 knocked on a bedroom door, opened the bedroom door, and yelled, "the police are here, your sister called them."

Once MINOR 2 opened the bedroom door, officers observed a second juvenile female, ultimately identified as MINOR 1, laying in a bed and wearing a red sweatshirt and no pants or underwear. Officers observed Carlos LOPEZ seated on the same bed, fully clothed with a beer in his hand. Officers noticed numerous beers throughout the bedroom.

The girl got up and stumbled out of the room, apparently drunk, while Lopez, 27, went to his bedroom and locked the door and refused to come out for roughly 20 minutes, the affidavit states:

When asked what was going on his bedroom, LOPEZ indicated that PERSON 1 had introduced him to MINOR 1 so that he could engage in sexual intercourse with her. Specifically, in exchange for sex with MINOR 1, LOPEZ agreed to pay PERSON 1 $100. LOPEZ indicated that he "tried" to do something with the girl, but that he was not yet able to do it. LOPEZ indicated that he had not yet paid PERSON 1 the $100 that he owed him for the female. During a subsequent interview at the police station, LOPEZ further indicated that the female who was found in his room was kissing and caressing him and looking for his money. He stated that PERSON 1 had initially brought both girls, MINORS 1 and 2, into his bedroom.

Innocent, etc.