Raul F. Lopez aka Lee Escobar.

By Cecilia Levine From Daily Voice

A Long Branch man has been arrested and charged with committing sexual crimes against two children, a boy and a girl, authorities said.

Raul F. Lopez, also known as Lee Escobar, 45, began abusing the girl when she was under 13 years old, and continued multiple times from 2020 to 2023, according to Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond S. Santiago.

A boy was under the age of 16 when crimes were committed against him in 2023, Santiago said.

Escobar turned himself in to authorities at the Long Branch Police Department earlier this month and was taken into custody without incident, officials said. He was lodged at the Monmouth County Correctional Institution pending a detention hearing held Friday, Nov. 21, where Monmouth County Superior Court Judge Vincent N. Falcetano Jr. granted the State’s motion to keep him detained while the case proceeds.

He was charged with first-degree aggravated sexual assault, second-degree sexual assault, two counts of third-degree endangering the welfare of a child, and fourth-degree criminal sexual contact.

Anyone with information about Escobar’s activities is urged to contact Long Branch Police Department Detective David Stone at 732-222-1000, according to Santiago.