Former Conroe priest pleads guilty to 2 counts of child indecency
CONROE, Texas — A former Conroe priest at the center of a sex abuse scandal involving children is headed to prison.
Manuel LaRosa-Lopez has pled guilty to two counts of indecency with a child, and according to prosecutors Tuesday, has agreed to serve 10 years in prison.
He is scheduled for a formal sentencing on Dec. 16.
LaRosa-Lopez was charged back in May 2019. He is accused of abusing children while he was a priest at the Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Conroe.
"It is incredibly rare for clergy abusers to see jail time for their crimes and we applaud the brave victims who came forward to ensure that this dangerous man would face justice," Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests (SNAP) said in a statement. "We believe that these survivors have surely saved other children from the lifelong scourge of sexual abuse and hope that they will now be able to focus on their own healing."
His victims were teenagers at the Sacred Hearth Catholic Church in Conroe. They alleged that in late 1990s and early 2000s, LaRosa Lopez kissed them, exposed himself and touched them inappropriately on numerous occasions.
“These victims waited 20 years for this,” said Montgomery County Assistant District Attorney Nancy Hebert. “And so the message should be it’s never too late to tell someone what’s happened to you so others can be empowered.”
Hebert said one of the victim's family did report the abuse to the Catholic Church early on. But the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston never notified law enforcement. Instead, it sent the cleric for treatment at a Splendora rehabilitation center and later reassigned him to a parish in Richmond in Fort Bend County.
“Why were the authorities not immediately notified? That is a slap in the face to victims everywhere when you get treated like that,” said Eduardo Lopez de Casas with SNAP Houston.
Prosecutors said the original victim only learned of the priest’s transfer years later, when she reported the abuse again—this time directly to Conroe police.
It sparked an extensive investigation that included an unprecedented seizure of church records from the archdiocese to build the case.
In the end, an abusive priest owned up to his sins in a court of law. LaRosa Lopez is set to be formally sentenced December 15 in Montgomery County.
“We want our victims to know that there is hope,” Lopez de Casas said. “If you have faith, there is hope that one day you will see justice.”
The Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston and Cardinal Daniel DiNardo initially declined to comment on the guilty plea and referred questions to defense attorney Wendell Odom.
“This was after much deliberation and soul-searching on his part,” Odom said of his client. “He is accepting responsibility for what happened all those years ago, he wants closure on this and to move on.”
Winter Appeal 2023
To our friends,
2023 has been a long year with many ups and downs for us all. As we close out the year, we at SNAP hope that you are feeling like you are on your way to being healthy, fulfilled, and happy. This past year has brought both successes and challenges. Thanks to the support you have shown in the past, we’ve been able to celebrate the good days and weather the stormy ones. Now, we are once again asking for your support as we work to support survivors new and old as we ‘Move SNAP Forward.’
At SNAP we are proud to have hosted a very well-attended conference in August 2023. This event allowed us to gather friends, survivors, advocates, and allies for a weekend of camaraderie and connection. We were so happy to be able to welcome many first-time attendees to gather in person and are already looking forward to the next conference.
To strengthen our movement for justice, healing, and prevention, SNAP will be expanding our peer support and providing more volunteer opportunities in the coming year. Through this great work, we are ensuring survivor voices are represented as we work for significant change that will benefit children and survivors.
Right now, survivors worldwide are getting the help they need from SNAP, and more and more reach out to us daily, but we need your help to keep those programs going and get our volunteers the training they need to thrive.
Your tax-deductible gift to SNAP can help offset the cost of our important mission. If you are not in a position to contribute, you can still support us by sharing this letter with those who can. As we continue to fight for survivors across the globe, your donation or sharing the great work SNAP does will help us continue our work to protect the vulnerable, heal the wounded, and prevent abuse.
Your donation ensures SNAP will be there for those who need us more than ever!
Warmly,
Michael W. McDonnell, C.P.S.
Interim Executive Director
Showing 1 comment