Brother Toby free

Edgar Lopez Bertrand, better known as Brother Toby, was freed from custody in federal court in Houston, Texas today. Salvadoran press reported that the well-known Salvadoran preacher was "freed of all charges," but I have not seen confirmation of that statement. A dismissal of charges against Brother Toby would be unusual in light of his guilty plea entered in July.

The US Justice Department press release regarding the guilty plea can be found here.

UPDATE
The Associated Press clarifies that Edgar Lopez Bertrand was not cleared of all charges, today, but was instead sentenced to "time served" equal to the 100 days he had already spent in federal custody. In addition he was sentenced to two years of supervised release and fined.

Comments

Anonymous said…
The local press here is saying that Toby has been exonerated of breaking any Salvadoran laws. I take that to mean that his false statements only related to the U.S. visa application in regards to his claim to be the biological father of the girl. The Salvadoran authorities are saying that he broke no Salvadoran laws. An interesting note is that people here, although maybe a little put out that the popular pastor was put in jail, actually were somewhat amazed that the law was applied to someone of his stature. The comment I have heard from several is that "those gringo will put anyone in jail". That was said with a certain admiration for the law being applied to someone they saw as important, which here sometime means they are above the law.
11:27 AM
Anonymous said…
Espero que le sigan un juicio en El Salvador, esto abre camina a cualquier persona de querer hacer lo mismo, bien se pueden robar a algun niño e ir a la Alcaldia y mentir sin miedo a ser castigados, como dicen en Estados Unidos hoy en dia si lo hizo Bill Clinton ¿Por que no nosotros?
8:50 PM
Anonymous said…
Espero que le sigan un juicio en El Salvador, esto abre camina a cualquier persona de querer hacer lo mismo, bien se pueden robar a algun niño e ir a la Alcaldia y mentir sin miedo a ser castigados, como dicen en Estados Unidos hoy en dia si lo hizo Bill Clinton ¿Por que no nosotros?
8:55 PM
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