Former sober-living house leader arrested for alleged sex assaults

SAN JOSE >> The former manager of a sober-living house in the city’s Evergreen area has been arrested in connection with four sexual assaults dating back a decade, and investigators believe there could be several more victims who have not reported him, according to San Jose police.

Justin Abraham Lopez, 32, was arrested in the Los Angeles suburb of Sherman Oaks on Thursday by by LAPD officers, according to police.

Jail records show that Lopez, who is from San Jose but was most recently living in Southern California, was being held Monday at the Men’s Central Jail in Los Angeles awaiting transport back to the Bay Area.

According to San Jose police, Lopez became the subject of a criminal investigation after a woman reported being sexually assaulted by him when he worked as a house manager at Hope’s Sober Living on Flint Avenue in San Jose.

An ensuing investigation uncovered evidence of three “previously unreported sexual assaults alleged to have been committed by Lopez throughout the South Bay,” police said. A police spokesperson confirmed that the earliest sexual assault allegation linked to Lopez occurred in 2011.

SJPD detectives obtained a search warrant for Lopez and coordinated his arrest last week with Los Angeles police.

Lopez worked at the Hope location from 2015 to about 2018, according to police. The home offers a structured environment to help people recovering from drug and alcohol addiction transition from a restrictive rehabilitation facility to unsupervised living. Someone who answered the phone at Hope’s Sober Living on Monday said they had no comment.

Anyone with information about Lopez, including potential unreported assaults, can contact Detective Anthony Barajas or Detective Pilar Montez at the sexual assault investigations unit at 408-277- 4102 or leave a tip with Silicon Valley Crime Stoppers at 408-9477867 or at svcrimestoppers.org.