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Davenport musician strikes chord with changing sexual abuse law

A well-known Davenport musician is speaking out tonight about what she calls a hellish nightmare that resulted in a new Iowa law for sex abuse survivors.

A well-known Davenport musician is speaking out about what she calls a hellish nightmare that resulted in a new Iowa  law for sex abuse survivors.

Tewanta Lopez says she learned that at least one granddaughter was abused by a family member, after the girl came forward and told a school counselor.

The alleged abuse though, had occurred five years before.

The family member was charged and she says, confessed on a phone call that was taped by police. But, he never spent a minute in jail.

"The person was arrested, and we waited to go to trial for four months, and it was dismissed. They had to drop the charge, because the statute of limitations had run out," Lopez said.

The musician and music teacher learned the statute of limitations on the aggravated misdemeanor was just three years.

So, Lopez went to work to try and change that.  After friend and former lawmaker Steve Grubbs introduced Lopez to State Senator Roby Smith of Davenport, a bill was drafted and passed by both the House and Senate.

In 2014, Iowa Governor Terry Branstad signed it into law, with Lopez and her family by his side.

The new law allows victims who were abused as children to come forward up until their 28th birthday.

"It's exactly how our system was set up to work, that a constituent calls a lawmaker. It's exactly what people should do if they want to change the law," said Sen. Smith.

Lopez says the law won't help her situation.

"My grandchildren were violated, and no justice prevailed. We had a confession, the police had a confession. The Department of Human Services has this confession. He's on the abuser's list. He's not on the national list because he doesn't have a conviction, but he's on the Central Abuse Registry of Iowa," she said.

She says she believes the law will make a difference, and close a legal loophole that could let some abusers walk free.

"Not only did it make me mad and furious, it made me want to not ever let this happen to another family, it made me want to shine the light," she said.

Lopez has also started a non-profit group called Iowa Moms and Dads Against Pedophiles, or imadap.org to lobby to improve laws for abuse victims and continue to bring awareness about the issue.

"Families don't want to believe it, of a neighbor or a grandfather or whoever it is. They don't want to believe it," she said.

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