KERR COUNTY, Texas – Disaster recovery coalition Kerr Together suspended its ties to a Hill Country recovery group after determining a man charged with sexually assaulting a child had been near children at river cleanup sites.
In a June 23 letter sent to the Rampart Vigilance Foundation, Kerr Together announced it is stopping all operations conducted by the foundation as part of the agreement between the two organizations.
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The letter came five days after the arrest of Rufino Lopez, 44, for violating his bond in an ongoing Kendall County continuous sex abuse of a child case.
“Kerr Together recognizes that criminal charges constitute allegations and that all individuals are entitled to the presumption of innocence and due process under the law,” the letter said. “Nevertheless, the assignment of an individual facing such charges to activities performed under the Agreement has created significant concerns regarding risk management, organizational oversight, community confidence, reputational harm, and potential liability exposure.”
Lopez was arrested in early January on a first-degree felony charge of continuous sex abuse of a child.
Kendall County Sheriff’s Office investigators claim Lopez sexually assaulted a girl multiple times beginning when she was 11 years old.
Lopez was released on bond Jan. 20 while awaiting indictment in the case, court records show, but was taken back into custody June 18 after Kendall County officials alleged he had “proximity contact” with children.
Lopez, who remains in custody, has a July 23 hearing to contest the bond violation, records show.
His attorney, Bobby Barrera, told KSAT Friday that witness statements dispute the claim that Lopez was near children.
Barrera described his client’s legal situation as an emotional attack on him that caused Kendall County to find a bond violation.
A person familiar with Rampart Vigilance’s cleanup efforts in Kerr County said other members of the group brought their children to work sites without being made aware of Lopez’s pending criminal case.
Rampart Vigilance Foundation founder Aaron Tapley defended Lopez’s role in his organization Friday, telling KSAT Investigates that Lopez had been transparent about his arrest and bond conditions and typically worked on the opposite side of the Guadalupe River in order to satisfy the conditions of his bond.
Lopez was a volunteer who was occasionally given reimbursement gift cards and was not an employee of RVF, Tapley said.
In a character statement submitted in Lopez’s criminal case late last month, Tapley wrote that Lopez typically worked at remote cleanup sites and uninhabited locations.
“On a few occasions, Mr. Lopez returned to our headquarters area to obtain fuel, retrieve equipment from his vehicle, or eat. He immediately maintained an appropriate distance and observed the no-contact order regarding children once he saw children present on the site, even though none had been present previously when he last departed from the command post,” the statement said. “Mr. Lopez did not interact and immediately departed the area upon observing that children had arrived on site, in order to maintain his distance in accordance with his bond conditions. I am unaware of any direct interaction Mr. Lopez may have had with any child on our worksites.”
A second member of the group wrote that Lopez “maintained clear distance” if children were present and did not “engage in any form of communication, show interest in, interact with or go anywhere near any children of team members” that were in the general area of where work was being done.
Kerr Together is a long-term community recovery organization created shortly after the deadly Hill Country Floods.
A spokesman for the group did not respond to an email Friday seeking comment.
Tapley confirmed RVF’s agreement with Kerr Together remains suspended and that he recently submitted a response to Kerr Together disputing the letter.
He said RVF was working to release an official statement to KSAT regarding the ongoing situation.
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