I cant believe i had wrestled with coach Lopez and he thought us responsibility to not drink, to not do drugs, to not get us into anything bad he was a great coach and guy but to be reading this article i can not believe what happened.

This definitely isn't the Kevin Lopez I know. Something just isn't right with the whole allegation. I hope further investigation reveals he is innocent of said charges, spending 3+ years with Coach Lopez has showed me he is definitely not this type of person. He's a well respected, kind hearted, respectful man and I know that new evidence will show up supporting his innocence

This definitely isn't the Kevin Lopez I know. Something just isn't right with the whole allegation. I hope further investigation reveals he is innocent of said charges, spending 3+ years with Coach Lopez has showed me he is definitely not this type of person. He's a well respected, kind hearted, respectful man and I know that new evidence will show up supporting his innocence

My grandson was being taught by this seemingly respectable coach, and is still pretty 'shook up' over this incident, but things like this do happen.
35 years ago, my son's very respectable ice hockey coach was arrested on similar charges, and he later pled guilty. We were all 'shook up'.

Our prayers go out to all the affected people, young and old.

I wrestled since middle school and graduated in 2008 from Cal High.. I've known Kevin since I started wrestling and I was always creeped out by him. I'm not surprised by these allegations at all and wouldn't be surprised if more people came forward as well. He's also an alcoholic and has been known to show up to practice or the matches drunk/hungover.

Why isn't his picture up? It's disgusting how this can happen inside a church. Look up his twitter account @pezlo77.

I am saddened by the allegations against Coach Lopez. I have known him through coaching circles for roughly ten years and he always presented himself as a responsible and respectable wrestling coach. If the allegations are true, then I feel I would have been duped. If the allegations are false then I hope he can recover from the charges. Regardless, I hope the entire Cal High community can move on from this experience.

We are very saddened to hear of this news. Kevin has been an inspiration and very professional in my child's youth group activities at New Life Church. I hope whoever brought these charges will reconsider and have them reversed before Kevin's reputation gets ruined any further from this.

@ Michelle

The alleged victim should "reconsider?" Are you kidding me? Yes, someone is innocent until proven guilty, but your statement falls right along with those who question if a women was really raped. He really could be guilty of what he is charged with and people are not just arrested on a whim. I am sure there was enough real evidence (albeit possibly all circumstantial) to bring these charges as the DA would not want to be slammed with a malicious prosecution suit.

Thank you Catherine! Well said!

Let This be a lesson to all parents that if your kid is "creeped" out by some teacher usually a male, pay attention. I read this over and over where someone had this. "icky" feeling about some teacher and it later proves to be factual. He prayed on kids because he had access and was charming. If what one contributor said is accurate it should be a wake up call if indeed he was known to have a drinking problem as well. Parents, listen to your kids and do the unthinkable, ask them if they get any odd feelings about any of their teachers, coaches, or especially youth ministers!

@ Bill,

I agree with your post, but just to let you know 'prayed on' would be appropriate for his church involvement, if he were praying for someone, but the spelling should be 'preyed' as in someone who did harm.

Thank you, Catherine, for bringing some rational thought to this emotional discussion. Much appreciated.

[removed because it was irrelevant]

I'm betting the alleged minor was a consenting party to the act or acts. Give me a break here... 16 year olds are very aware of what they are doing and who they are doing it with. Obviously, some of you have forgotten what it is to be young and wild... He's only 27 not 50... And human. Those of you who have negative comments, "Don't judge unless you know all the facts first." Hope the truth does come out for sure.

JJ, I very much want to believe that you are being sarcastic. Please say you are.

Coaches, teachers, ministers, anyone who is in a position of influence or power over minors are, REGARDLESS of their age, should have no intimate dealings with those under the age of 18. If you are an adult, and you are 'young and wild', you better make sure you are 'young and wild' with another consenting ADULT!!

"Great Coach" - "well-respected" --all of these phrases may be true about this young man, but the bottom line is -
he is charged with Child Abuse! It's not your child who will live with the shame of being abused for the rest of her life, so why not "give the guy a break" -- this is very dangerous thinking - that it won't happen to your family, and I do hope it never will.

There must be some hard evidence, right? Obviously, the victim needs protection, and the parents, the school district, and authorities must be told about this right away...like they were...BUT, Media outlets as well as the SRVUSD better hope that the evidence against Mr.Lopez proves him guilty in a court of law. Using and Smearing Mr.Lopez's name through the community so badly that he will never work again in it, shouldn't be done until he is
proven guilty. Too late for that, right? Guilty until proven innocent in
this country...

Is everybody assuming that the sex abuse victim is a female? Has that been released as a "fact"?

I assumed that the "victim" is a teen male. Does anybody know?

JJ-

I agree with your statement that "16 year olds are very aware of what they are doing and who they are doing it with. " However, if you take into account the law and age, you are not considered a 'consenting adult' until you are 18 years old. It sounds like you are using his age of 27 vs. 50 as an excuse for his actions. Bob P hit the nail on the head.

Bob P. & Ron, Although I completely appreciate your comments and totally agree with you, that would be ideal in a perfect world which we do not live in... Would be great if we all lived by the proverbial high/Moral road. You are misunderstanding my definition of young and wild. I wasn't referring to the adult. There are many teens that aren't angels out there. I knew many.. He is Definitely guilty and responsible for his part in the participation of this "inappropriate relationship" if that's a fact but make no mistake that a love struck teen of that age may not have been complaining of the endeavor. All I'm saying is there are two sides to every story and as a person knowledgeable in this sort of thing, an older, wiser, and most likely mature relationship is far more exciting to someone younger than a High school crush. Need to be realistic here... Also betting "The Parents" called the authorities when they figured it out, not the victim. It happens more that people care to admit. Just not in San Ramon... The Perfect Bubble... Not saying it's appropriate or lawful, Just saying, a year or year and a half and graduation separates the offense. At what age do we consider a person responsible as well for their actions? "18 "?? Kinda late, don't you think? Like I said, Agree and appreciate you both. Just need to look at the Facts when they roll out... I too was a victim of sexual abuse that began @ the age of nine, understood what had happened to me by 12... @ 16 was well aware of right and wrong in that arena... I needed to be responsible for my choices as well at that point. Key word in report, "RELATIONSHIP" which cannot be achieved alone.

Did some of you miss the series new life church had recently about judging others. You can catch the great messages online thru their website and maybe gain some insight about judging others before judging Kevin and the alleged victim. Prayers going out to all.

oh my god! I wrestled with him! he was a great leader in so many ways, taught me to work hard in what you do and love. hard to see him go like this.

I think it's best to wait and see what comes out at the end of all this. Remember, victims are usually told not to talk to the press or share evidence with anyone. Family and friends of the accused can say whatever they want until the trial which can be months away. JJ, anyone who is working in a high school knows it is inappropriate the have a relationship with student. Any 18 year old knows that right? So why the victim blaming? Victims come forward to stop a behavior from continuing and hurting others. All it takes for evil to exist is for good men to do nothing. Let the justice system do their job. I for one am glad that people still have the courage and strength in an area filled with "Michelle and JJ's" to be brave enough to come forward and stop this.

I do believe the term "jail bait" has been around for decades and I don't care what the alleged victim was doing. If someone is under 18 and you are an adult, it is against the law to have sexual relations with them. I have both an 18 year old son and 16 year old daughter so I am well versed in today's teenagers seeing the student behavior at Monte Vista, and there still is no excuse for an adult whether 18, 27 or 50 to think the law does not apply to them.

To the Michelle's and JJ's of this world, at this point, Mr. Lopez has only been charged and not convicted of the crime of which he is accused. It doesn't necessarily mean he is a bad person altogether, it could just mean he possibly did something wrong because he had a HUGE lapse in judgment. Either way, you need to stop blaming the alleged victim and take off the rose-colored glasses as unless you are with someone literally 24/7, you really don't know them except in the small window you personally interact with them.

This sounds like it may have been out of character, based on the comments above from people who know this man personally or professionally. I guess everyone should wait until the facts come out before labeling anyone involved. What if the child "victim" really isn't a victim? Even if he's found guilty, that doesn't necessarily mean that he was the one pursuing. Maybe there is no real "victim" here and the parents are enforcing their authority over their child who was consenting. None of that really matters because he'll be found guilty or plead guilty if they were intimate in any way. This is the drama that people love and watch on TV. I guess we'll have to wait until the movie is released to find out what really happened. Sad for the characters directly affected, but what fun for all the spectators.

If an individual is under the age of 18, then he/she is not considered an adult in the State of California.

It doesn't matter if there was a "lapse of judgement". That's simply a defense argument to sway a jury. What is said in a court of law/trial will impact the jury and the judge. They will make a determination of Guilty/Not Guilty in due time.

It's important that we trust that the Judge/Jury to make the best judgement.

signed,

Perry Mason

@ Based on a true story...

The whole point is a child cannot legally "consent" and it is the adult's responsibility to follow the law!

I also use to wrestle when Lopez was coaching. 07-08 . This just sickens me, since I was a female on the team. So hard to stomach...

When I was living in Morro Bay around 1996 or 1997, a respected family man and church member was accused of "lewd acts" by two 13 year old girls. The girls were interviewed by the police individually. Their stories fell apart and they confessed that they made it all up for attention. So don't be too quick to place blame on the accused. He might be the real victim.

Roz

Or the victim may be the real victim. We really know nothing. Lets let the justice system work.I have noticed in the past that this bubble communiity always sides with the accused. Always victimizes the victim. So far in my experience, it ends up the same. Heck, check out yesterdays cc times. Yea, even that guy had people blaming those that came forward. So again, maybe we should keep our mouths shut and wait for the verdict.

so far we have no idea what happened. If he did indeed prey on a young person and take advantage of his position/situation the he should have the book thrown at him.
If it was a "relationship" with a mature 17 year old girl, it is very inappropriate and in our society unlawful. So, being a nation based on laws, he should be punished accordingly.
The last part of my comment (and the one which will most likely garner hateful retorts) is a girl/boy is seventeen the day before their birthday. It would be inappropriate even if it turns out to be a legal adult.
However, it is just a crazy notion to say if the victim is 17 he is a disgraceful pedophile who should have to register as a sex offender and carry it around for the rest of his life. But, one day later on her 18th birthday it is perfectly ok, no harm no foul (if this was not a teacher/pupil type situation of course)
We try minors as adults quite ofter. Like when they kill someone in our family. So, as a society we must think that at least some minors are capable and culpable on par with "adults"

I'm not aware that the victim is a "female". Where is that information published?

I also find it curious that I'm unable to locate photos of Mr. Lopez?

Kim,

I wasn't blaming the victim or defending Mr. Lopez. I was just pointing out that the facts are not all in yet and an accusation isn't a guilty conviction.

Roz

Roz, I bet you take the long shots at the race track because there is a 92% conviction rate in Contra Costa County.

Kevin was a great person and i agree with JJ if a girl is 16 and is persueing a relationship with a 27 year old...so what? In the courts eyes this is prison time, give them both two years...18 and 29 in the courts eyes perfectly fine...

I just want to point out that sociopaths are really good at fooling people. (Read the sociopath next door). You might think you know someone well and then find out you dont know them at all.

I was going to wrestle for Cal High then moved. But Im glad I didn't. Cal High's program is more than bad. they needed a better coach anyway. But not the way I wanted it to go down.

Kevin Lopez @pezlo77 · Jul 10

If i find in myself desires which nothing in this world can satisfy. the only logical explanation is that i was made for another world



"Multiple male victims have been identified," San Ramon Police Lt. Terry Reeder said on Friday. The lieutenant did not release any additional identifying information about the boys involved.

This kid graduated around my time, He was a creep in my eyes always flirting around wearing too tight of cloths, hid moral isn't very great either he seemed depressed. Not surprised at all by this, Cal High should do a better job with employing people who have been around this life time without touching kids...