Special to El Rrun-Rrun
For 11 years, the family of Tejano star Joe Lopez – expected to walk out of a Huntsville prison today after more than 11 years behind bars – have waited for him to come home.
And, said his brother Raul, a local bail bondsman, none more so than Lopez's 93-year-old mother who has waited all those years to see her son again.
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"She's 93 and she has waited all this time to see Joe again." Lopez said. "It doesn't matter what other people think of him, it's her son."
In 2006, a Cameron County jury gave Lopez 32 years in prison for sexually assaulting his niece, Krystal Lopez, in 2004, when she was 13.
The family has said Lopez was convicted based on DNA and other evidence fabricated by then-Cameron County District Attorney Armando Villalobos, himself serving a seven-year sentence for bribery and corruption. They say the singer will eventually be exonerated.
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, to run concurrently. As a result, he had to serve the longest 20 year sentence in prison.
Lopez will walk out of prison between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. Raul Lopez said one of his brothers will be there to meet him an bring him home to Brownsville.
The singer – now 67 – was granted parole Jan. 26, but only after he served a nine-month sex offender treatment program. Upon his release, he will undergo “supervised parole” through Oct. 31, 2026. The parole board has ordered him not to contact Krystal Lopez nor enter Harris County, where she lives, without prior approval.
Relatives say that that while incarcerated Lopez has written hundreds of songs and that he intends to beak back slowly into his former career.
"For now we're just thanking the Lord for his release and want him to come home," said Raul Lopez. "Our mom has been waiting for a long time and we're happy that she will see him again."
For 11 years, the family of Tejano star Joe Lopez – expected to walk out of a Huntsville prison today after more than 11 years behind bars – have waited for him to come home.
And, said his brother Raul, a local bail bondsman, none more so than Lopez's 93-year-old mother who has waited all those years to see her son again.
"She's 93 and she has waited all this time to see Joe again." Lopez said. "It doesn't matter what other people think of him, it's her son."
In 2006, a Cameron County jury gave Lopez 32 years in prison for sexually assaulting his niece, Krystal Lopez, in 2004, when she was 13.
The family has said Lopez was convicted based on DNA and other evidence fabricated by then-Cameron County District Attorney Armando Villalobos, himself serving a seven-year sentence for bribery and corruption. They say the singer will eventually be exonerated.
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, to run concurrently. As a result, he had to serve the longest 20 year sentence in prison.
Lopez will walk out of prison between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. Raul Lopez said one of his brothers will be there to meet him an bring him home to Brownsville.
The singer – now 67 – was granted parole Jan. 26, but only after he served a nine-month sex offender treatment program. Upon his release, he will undergo “supervised parole” through Oct. 31, 2026. The parole board has ordered him not to contact Krystal Lopez nor enter Harris County, where she lives, without prior approval.
Relatives say that that while incarcerated Lopez has written hundreds of songs and that he intends to beak back slowly into his former career.
"For now we're just thanking the Lord for his release and want him to come home," said Raul Lopez. "Our mom has been waiting for a long time and we're happy that she will see him again."