Jaime Sanchez-Lopez, unknown age, was sentenced in Common Pleas Court to serve 12 to 36 months in state prison after pleading guilty to a felony charge of unlawful contact with a minor.

Before the sentence was imposed, the girl’s father said Sanchez-Lopez “shattered our sense of security” and hopes he understands the impact the incident has had on his daughter, who was 8 years old at the time. He said she refuses to wear shorts, skirts, dresses or any clothing that exposes her legs and she has nightmares of being kidnapped from a department store.

“I apologize from the bottom of my heart,” Sanchez-Lopez said through the interpreter. He also said he apologizes for his mistake.

Judge Joseph Kubit accepted a plea agreement Wednesday, April 30, and imposed the sentence, which also included a $150 fine and prohibits contact with the victim. He said Sanchez-Lopez will have to abide by conditions for sex offenders set by the state parole board.

Cranberry Township police filed charges following a March 2023 incident in the Walmart on Route 19.

An asset protection employee told police he saw a man walking behind the girl, lower his cellphone under the girl’s skirt and appeared to take a photo or video, according to an affidavit.

The employee called 911 and approached the man, but he fled and was apprehended by police after he ran outside, according to the affidavit

Police determined Sanchez-Lopez was not in the country legally, according to the affidavit. He was initially charged with a felony count of criminal attempt to photograph, and misdemeanor counts of possession of an instrument of crime and invasion of privacy.