PAUL V.

CANNARELLA
ATTORNEY AT LAW
111 N. Sixth Street
Post Office Box 38
Hartsville, South Carolina 29551
E-mail: paul@pvclaw.com
Phone: (843) 332-0106 Fax: (843) 332-0108

PRESS RELEASE

Date: May 4, 2018

Re: Our client Cesar Antonio Lopez

HARTSVILLE, SC This release concerns the case of our client Cesar Antonio
Lopez who was attending Coker College on an academic scholarship, playing on the
soccer team, when he was arrested and charged with kidnapping and criminal sexual
conduct in the first degree.

Cesar was questioned regarding activities taking place at a party this past Sunday
morning. It appears that a student claimed that he kidnapped her against her will,
covered her mouth to prevent her screams, pinned her down, forcibly raping her in
a dorm bathroom, later dismissing her saying “you can go now.”

Our office was contacted by Mr. Lopez’s family on Wednesday to represent him.
Efforts were coordinated to secure his release on bond. Immediately after meeting
with Mr. Lopez, I directed my team to obtain the police reports and I started
conducting an independent investigation into the allegations.

From the onset Mr. Lopez vehemently denied he had committed any crime. He and
his family were devastated by the allegations. He advised me that he and the
supposed victim did in fact have consensual sex in a dorm bathroom. When
interviewed, he readily admitted to the police this same version of events.

My teams’ investigation led to other witnesses, some who said that Mr. Lopez and
the young lady had been “making out” prior to leaving the dorm room. By mid-day
Thursday, we were investigating things in the past that we believe are relevant to
discrediting the allegations against Mr. Lopez.
 PAUL V. CANNARELLA
ATTORNEY AT LAW
111 N. Sixth Street
Post Office Box 38
Hartsville, South Carolina 29551
E-mail: paul@pvclaw.com
Phone: (843) 332-0106 Fax: (843) 332-0108

Page Number Two

By late afternoon, the statements made by the alleged victim and her friends when
interviewed by police simply weren’t adding up. Several of Mr. Lopez’s friends and
acquaintances were interviewed and provided differing versions of events.

Early Thursday evening, Lauren Emily Pearson, a Coker College student from
Cheraw was booked into the W. Glen Campbell Detention Center and charged by
Hartsville Police with filing a false police report relating to a felony. The police have
confirmed through local media outlets that Ms. Pearson was in fact the complaining
party to the rape allegations against my client Mr. Lopez. It was confirmed that
“essentially she made it up” according to police.

Through our combined efforts, it appears that justice may swiftly be served in this
case, however, it has taken a heavy toll on Mr. Lopez and his entire family. The
status of my client’s charges are unknown as of the issuance of this release. His
family was forced to travel here from out of state, incur expenses for bail bonds and
legal representation. They stand by their son. Regrettably, this same family was
forced to clean out his dorm room after he was banned from campus, removed from
the soccer team and suspended from school after his release from jail.

These false allegations should cause society to pause when they hear on the news or
read on the internet that a person has been charged with a crime. Folks are quick to
convict based simply on allegations, which oftentimes, just as here, are later proven
to be false. In this case, our swift actions allowed that to happen rather quickly.

Sadly, its hard to un-ring the “charged with rape and kidnapping” bell. Mr. Lopez’s
life has been changed forever, all because of a made-up story. His picture and the
allegations are all over the internet. He was forced to leave the college he held near
and dear.
 PAUL V. CANNARELLA
ATTORNEY AT LAW
111 N. Sixth Street
Post Office Box 38
Hartsville, South Carolina 29551
E-mail: paul@pvclaw.com
Phone: (843) 332-0106 Fax: (843) 332-0108

Page Number Three

All of us are wounded, so we seek mercy and, therefore must be merciful.

Dominus vobiscum.

Further details will be released as they become available.

By: s/ Paul V. Cannarella, Sr.