CONROE (TX)
Houston Chronicle
July 18, 2019
By Nicole Hensley
A priest accused of molesting three children at a Montgomery County parish returned to court Thursday for the first time since his indictment on a new charge of indecency with a child.
Manuel La Rosa-Lopez entered a plea of not guilty on the latest charge as his day in court was pushed back to September, with a lawyer for the former Sacred Heart Catholic Church priest saying the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office was still sifting through a trove of subpoenaed records from the Archdiocese of Galveston Houston.
Assistant District Attorney Wesley LeRouax said the priest waived a formal arraignment by signing off on resetting the appearance.
The 61-year-old priest, flanked by his defense team, said nothing as he left the courtroom through a side door and out a back alley into the sweltering heat in downtown Conroe. He ran a rosary through his hands as he crossed a street.
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