HOUSTON (TX)
Houston Chronicle
November 28, 2018
By Samantha Ketterer
Authorities on Wednesday searched the offices of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston for additional evidence in the case of a Conroe priest accused of sexual misconduct, according to the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office.
The search targets included evidence of “secret archives” that exist at the archdiocese, Montgomery County District Attorney Brett Ligon said.
“The good thing is, I’ve taken the burden off everybody in the Catholic Church,” he said. “They don’t have to know anything. I’m going to find it all.”
The search is in connection with former Conroe priest Manuel Larosa-Lopez, who was arrested Sept. 11 on four counts of indecency with a child for alleged sexual misconduct going back to 1998.
The alleged abuse lasted for at least three years and targeted a boy and a girl who attended the Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Conroe, according to an arrest affidavit. Larosa-Lopez has denied the allegations.
Larosa-Lopez has denied the allegations.
The archdiocese issued a statement on the matter, saying it is cooperating with the investigation: “This morning, the District Attorney of Montgomery County executed a search warrant for records and information related to an ongoing investigation. The Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston continues to cooperate, as we have since the outset, with this process. In fact, consistent with Cardinal DiNardo’s pledge of full cooperation, the information being sought was already being compiled.”
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