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Predator Priest in Texas Leads to Law Enforcement Investigation
In Conroe, Texas police have arrested Manuel La Rosa-Lopez for alleged sexual abuse of two teens who were parishioners at the Sacred Heart Catholic Church while he was a priest there. Investigators obtained documents for the timeframe that was in question, which was between the early 1990's and early 2000's.
District Attorney Brett Ligon of Montgomery County assured his constituents he would follow the case to the end and that his office was trying to determine a pattern of behavior for La Rosa-Lopez. They were looking at employment records and a history of any other complaints against him to determine credibility and if there were other victims. Officials said the church is cooperating with the investigation.
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There’s concern that the church knew about La Rosa-Lopez and his crimes. One was reported in 2001 and the priest went to some type of residential treatment after that. He was then sent back to work and assigned at the Chancery. Prior to his recent arrest he was once again working as a priest.
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In a recent grand jury report out of Pennsylvania, extensive sexual abuse by priests was shown to be rampant with over 300 priests sexually abusing more than 1,000 minors. It was status quo for the church to deny the abuse and move the priest to another parish. In some cases, the bishop would send the priest to a short term facility in order to treat them and then just send them to another parish. This looks to be the case with what happened with La Rosa-Lopez.
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La Rosa-Lopez’s Victims
Two of La Rosa-Lopez’s victims said they came forth after hearing about the grand jury report out of Pennsylvania. They said it inspired them to tell their own story. One of the victims, a female, said she had initially reported the sexual abuse to the church and eventually to the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston. She was told at the time that La Rosa-Lopez would be removed from working with children, although that didn’t happen. In standard Catholic leadership fashion, he was simply moved to another parish. She said she felt very betrayed by the church.
The good news for the victims is that Montgomery County doesn’t have a statute of limitations and justice can finally be served. As of now, the priest has bonded out of jail and is awaiting trial.
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