Crime & Safety
Ex-Conroe Priest Indicted On 2 Counts Of Child Indecency
Father Manuel La Rosa-Lopez was indicted by a Montgomery County grand jury on two counts of child indecency, officials announced.
CONROE, TX — A Montgomery County grand jury has indicted an ex-Conroe priest accused of sexually abusing teens in his parish in the late 90s and early 2000s.
Manuel La Rosa-Lopez, who was previously assigned to the Sacred Heart Catholic Church at the time of the allegations, was indicted this week on two of four counts of indecency with a child.
La Rosa-Lopez turned himself in on Sept. 11, 2018, at the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office, and was later freed on bond.
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La Rosa-Lopez became involved in a public sexual abuse scandal when and man and a woman both came forward in August and claimed they’d been sexually abused by the priest when they were in the early teens.
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Several weeks after his release from jail, a third victim came forward and alleged La Rosa-Lopez subjected the altar boy to several acts of abuse while he was a seminary student.
The incidents were reported to the church, according to the man's attorney, but no action was taken and La Rosa-Lopez was eventually ordained into the priesthood.
The allegations against La Rosa-Lopez led to a raid in November by the Texas Rangers, the Montgomery County District Attorney's Office, and the Conroe Police Department.
La Rosa-Lopez is due in court later this month.
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