Valentine Lopez

17-year-old sex assault suspect goes before judge:

A registered sex offender who had been attending classes at Pasadena High School went before a judge Friday.

He was there to hear the newest charge against him.

Valentine Lopez, 17, is accused of sexually abusing a 14-year-old girl he met on Myspace.com.

The school district said it was already aware of his conviction three years ago for a sex crime against another child.

But, officials added, there was nothing it could do at the time to separate Lopez from the other students.

More details from another article…

Lopez was taken into custody Wednesday, according to police.

According to the DPS Website, Lopez is a registered sex offender, convicted in 2003 for a sexual assault case that involved a three-year-old victim.

Pasadena ISD Superintendent Kirk Lewis explained that though the district was aware of Lopez’ past record, there was nothing they could do aside from providing the teen with an education.

“The district will do everything it can always to protect its’ students,” he said. “In this particular instance, there were legal restrictions that prevented us from doing anything more than what we had already done. My understanding is that they’re currently working through the process for suspension, and completing the paperwork to have him moved to an alternative placement (facility).”

According to Lewis, any student that lives within any school district must be provided an education by that school district. People were not notified of Lopez’ past convictions, said the superintendent, because the teen was protected by juvenile and privacy laws.

It’s nice to know that a sex offender’s right to privacy outweighs the safety of the other kids attending that school.

Thanks to Melissa for the tip. And thanks to Mr. A we have Lopez’s MySpace. It says he’s in a relationship. I wonder if his SO knew about his record.