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New questions about the way local archdiocese handled sex abuse allegations

Montgomery County District Attorney Brett Ligon said diocese should have reported the allegations to law enforcement authorities instead of CPS.

HOUSTON — The investigation into a local priest accused of sexually abusing two teenagers has shed light on how the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston handles sex abuse claims against its clergy members.

On Wednesday, Montgomery County Sheriff's deputies raided a residential treatment center in Splendora where Manuel La Rosa-Lopez was sent after a 16-year-old girl reported he sexually abused her while working at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, in Conroe.

Credit: Provided
Manuel La Rosa Lopez

The Archdiocese says when it first heard the claims from the teenage girl, it reported them to Children’s Protective Services or CPS.

Montgomery County District Attorney Brett Ligon said they should have reported the case to law enforcement authorities instead.

“If the legislature says it meets the minimum reporting requirement, then as a prosecutor, my feeling is, hey, perhaps it should ought to be just law enforcement,” Ligon said.

CPS is an agency that mainly handles allegations of abuse against family members, or those within the same household.

“Typically, we do not investigate clergy, religious leaders, priests, unless again, they are the guardian, care-giver of a child,” explained CPS spokeswoman Tiffani Butler.

A male accuser who came forward in August, also claims La Rosa-Lopez abused him when he was a a teenage parishoner at the Conroe church.

Court documents state that Sister Maureen O’Connell, the Victims Assistance Coordinator for the Archdiocese, said his claims were reported to CPS. According to an online bio, Sister O’Connell actually has a background in law enforcement, having worked in the youth division of the Chicago Police Department as an officer.

“Often times, it’s left up to the interpreter’s imagination as to why they chose one agency over the other,” Ligon said.

Ligon added that social workers at CPS can turn over criminal conduct claims to police, but some cases fall through the cracks. He has offered to give suggestions to parish counselors about how to best handle suspicions or first-hand knowledge of abuse.

“I would have specific suggestions to the Archdiocese , I imagine me and district attorneys across the United States, giving them what would be best cases, best practices,” Ligon said.

The Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston declined to answer why the Church reported the sex abuse claims to CPS in 2001, rather than law enforcement.

It also wouldn’t comment on if it plans to change its protocols in the future.

The Archdiocese says it is fully cooperating with authorities, and cannot comment on any further.

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