Victim in Joe Lopez case seeks re-vote by parole board

Krystal Lopez, the victim in the Joe Lopez sex assault case, is asking the parole board for a re-vote on Joe Lopez’s parole decision and overturn it.

According to an interview with Houston TV station ABC13, Krystal Lopez says she didn’t know that Joe Lopez was granted parole until she heard about it.

“It feels like a slap in my face,” Krystal, Joe Lopez’s niece, told ABC 13.

Victim Advocate Andy Kahan said the state doesn’t notify victims about parole eligibility unless you sign up for it.

“You must take control of the process. You must register yourself. It’s very simple. All anyone has to do is contact Texas Department of Justice Victims Services,” said Kahan, a Houston Victim’s Advocate.

Krystal Lopez, who was just 13 when she was raped and now 26, will meet with the parole board this month to request the re-vote.

Joe Lopez, the former lead singer and co-founder of Grupo Mazz, was sentenced to 32 years for the crime in 2006. Twenty of those years were concurrent. He’s served ten of them and the parole board just granted him parole on January 6.

Despite the parole, Lopez remains behind bars as the Grammy winning singer must complete a four month sex offender course, a condition of his parole.

Joe Lopez has always maintained his innocence on all the charges.

Watch the ABC13 news story.