For the second time this year, Joe Lopez, the former singer and co-founder of Grupo Mazz, was approved for parole, according to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice website.
Lopez was originally granted parole on January 6, but after learning of the decision, the victim in the case, Krystal Lopez, Joe’s niece, attempted to have the decision reversed.
According to the TDCJ website, the latest parole decision was approved on February 14 and Lopez will transfer to a Sex Offender Treatment Program (SOTP-9). He will be released to parole after completion and not earlier than nine months from May 2017. This means Lopez will more than likely be released by February 2018.
ValleyCentral.com reports Lopez will be given specific guidelines to follow upon release. The guidelines are listed as followed, according to Texas Board of Pardons and Parole’s spokesperson Raymond Estrada:
- Sex offender registration.
- Prohibition on internet access for certain sex offenders.
- No unsupervised contact with children {<} 17 Years.
- Super Intensive Supervision Program.
- No Contact with Victim.
- Sex Offender Program.
- Offender shall not reside with, contact, or cause to be contacted any person 17 years of age, or younger, in person, by telephone, correspondence, video or audio device, third person, media, or any electronic means, unless approved by the supervising parole officer.
- Offender shall not enter the specified county(s) without prior approval, Harris County, Texas.
There will be no more parole review hearings.
In October 2006, Lopez was convicted of multiple sex offense charges involving a minor. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison, he has always maintained his innocence on all charges and his legal team plans to work on exoneration for the former Tejano star.
Filed under: News Tagged: Joe Lopez
