Posted on February 12, 2018 by Romeo
Joe Lopez / Courtesy photo
After spending 11 years in prison, former Tejano singer Joe Lopez was granted parole on January 26, 2018 and his prison release date has been set. According to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice website, the 67-year-old co-founder of Grammy winning group Mazz will be released from prison on March 15, 2018.
In 2006, Lopez was given 32 years in prison by a Cameron County jury for raping his niece, Krystal Lopez, in 2004, when she was 13. He was sentenced to 20 years for one count of aggravated sexual assault of a child, eight years for a second count of aggravated sexual assault of a child and four years for indecency with a child, since Lopez was serving his sentences simultaneously, he was ordered to serve 20 years in prison.
The board’s decision in February 2017 to order Joe Lopez to complete a nine-month sex offender treatment program came after Lopez told the board she opposed her uncle’s parole.
The conditions of Lopez’s parole are not considered public record until his release according to Texas Parole and Pardons, but Lopez could register a sex offender and undergo “supervised parole” through Oct. 31, 2026.
The family and legal team for Lopez have always maintained his innocence and plan to exonerate him from all the convictions.
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