EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. – A founder of a church espousing sex and marriage between adults and children has been found to be a sexually dangerous person by a Madison County jury, and he will remain imprisoned in Illinois.
Madison County State’s Attorney Tom Haine said jurors took less than 15 minutes to make their ruling against 49-year-old James M. Lopes.
Local authorities first knew of Lopes in 2016 after reported interactions with parents and children at public locations in Collinsville, Edwardsville, Glen Carbon, and Livingston. In one of those incidents, Lopes claimed to be on a “mini date” with a young girl. In other cases, he called the young girls “princess.”
During a 2016 interview with a Madison County detective, Lopes admitted wanting to sexualize children in his church – Rise Star Church. The church would promote marriage and sex between adults and kids on various media platforms.
In 2017, a Madison County jury determined Lopes was a sexually dangerous person, and he was remanded to the custody of the Illinois Department of Corrections. Due to state law, a person is occasionally entitled to another trial to determine if they are still sexually dangerous.
In the new trial, a psychologist testified that he previously diagnosed Lopes with pedophilic disorder. He also told the court that there existed a substantial likelihood that Lopes would commit a sexual offense if he was released from prison.
Prosecutors told jurors that Lopes had refused to participate in a sex-offender treatment program and argued that he “has done absolutely nothing to rehabilitate himself.”
