FIRST ON FOX: Democratic congressional candidate and Latin music star Bobby Pulido is being criticized for a joke he made about a longtime bandmate exposed as a child predator.
Pulido, a two-time Latin Grammy Award-winning singer who is the Democratic nominee in Texas’ 15th Congressional District, is facing scrutiny over bandmate Frankie Caballero, who is a registered sex offender convicted of indecent contact with an 8-year-old girl. Pulido has said he was not aware of the bandmate’s conviction and that he cut ties with him as soon as he learned.
However, Congresswoman Monica De La Cruz, R-Texas, who Pulido is attempting to unseat, called out the musician-turned-politician for the joke, which he made at a 2018 concert, claiming, “Everyone knows he knew.”
Fox News Digital reviewed YouTube video of the concert, which took place in November 2018, when Pulido referred to Caballero as a “bad man.” He quipped that though Caballero was born in South Bend, Indiana, he did not attend Notre Dame but went to “Penn State,” which prompted Caballero to take a step back and Pulido to laugh, saying, “No, no, I’m just kidding, don’t worry.”
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A spokesperson for Pulido has pushed back on De La Cruz’s comments, accusing the congresswoman of “telling lies” and saying that “Bobby Pulido had no knowledge of Caballero’s sex offender registration and would never knowingly associate with anyone with such a history.”
In an interview with Fox News Digital, De La Cruz asserted that “the question isn’t whether Bobby Pulido knew what his close friend did to these children — everyone knows he knew — the question is why Bobby Pulido spent decades bringing a pedophile around to our families?”
“The answer is, he doesn’t care, because he is a celebrity who barely even lives in this country,” she said.
As a singer and actor, Pulido has spent much of his career splitting his time between Mexico and South Texas.
“This is someone who was already faced child sex abuse charges when Mr. Pulido personally recruited him and built his entire career around him,” she said.
“Then he goes on to molest an 8-year-old girl from our community and goes to prison. Once again, Mr. Pulido hires him,” she said. “He starts bringing this pedophile into our parks, into our festivals, and my opponent is even on tape joking about this man’s crimes.”
De La Cruz emphasized, “My heart breaks up for the families whose children were victimized by the predator that Bobby Pulido brought into our neighborhoods for decades, knowing full well what he had done.”
“I’m raising my own kids in South Texas, and I want every family that Bobby Pulido put in danger to know I’m here for you.”
In response, a spokesperson for Pulido’s campaign pushed back, telling Fox News Digital, “Monica and her máquina de mentiras (machine of lies) are at it again, telling lies because they don’t want you to know the truth.”
“Bobby Pulido had no knowledge of Caballero’s sex offender registration and would never knowingly associate with anyone with such a history,” the spokesperson added.
The spokesperson added that “Bobby, and his supporters, will not be lectured by Monica De La Cruz, who is the only candidate in this race who has been accused of child abuse under oath in a court of law and even had a restraining order issued against her to protect a child.”
During divorce proceedings in 2021, De La Cruz was accused by her ex-husband of pinching her then-step-daughter and of being verbally abusive. A temporary restraining order was granted, and no further charges were pursued, and the order was eventually dissolved.
De La Cruz has denied the accusations as false.
Meanwhile, a former Democratic prosecutor in Hidalgo County, Texas, told Fox News Digital that they “have thoroughly reviewed this case,” and concluded that “Mr. Pulido has no plausible deniability.”
The prosecutor said that Pulido’s “Penn State” comment “can only be inferred as either a child sex abuse joke or a reference to the fact that his friend spent four years in the state pen — both are devastating to Mr. Pulido’s defense.”
Caballero was first arrested for child sex abuse charges in 1992. Though he was hit with a $75,000 bond, according to the Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office website, the disposition of that case is unclear.
Pulido first collaborated with Caballero in 1995, three years after the 1992 arrest, and Caballero is credited on at least four of Pulido’s studio albums in 1995, 1996, 1997 and 1999.
In May 2014, Caballero was convicted of a second-degree felony involving indecent contact with an 8-year-old female and was incarcerated, according to the Texas Public Sex Offender website. He was incarcerated from 2014 to 2016.
Following his conviction and prison sentence, he toured again with Pulido between 2018 and 2021, with the two seen performing together in several cities, including Kansas City, Las Vegas, Minneapolis, Minnesota, and Tucson, Arizona, per videos shared on YouTube.
Between 2020 and 2021, Caballero was charged with indecency by sexual contact with a child, attempted aggravated sexual assault of a child, unlawful restraint of a child under 17, though those charges have been dismissed, according to Hidalgo County, Texas, Jail records. He was also charged with assault of a family member by impeding breathing and circulation, which resulted in him being released to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.
He was also hit with failure to comply with sex offender registration in 2020 and 2021.
In a prior statement to Fox News Digital, Pulido’s campaign manager, Abel Prado, said, “First and foremost, Bobby extends his deepest sympathies and support to all of the victims involved.”
“Frankie Caballero has long struggled with addiction issues and Bobby Pulido has acknowledged and attempted to help him with that battle,” Prado continued. “When Jimmy Montez Management learned of Caballero’s criminal history in 2021, he was immediately fired and that relationship was severed.”
“Bobby was never made aware of Caballero’s sex offender registration and would never knowingly associate with anyone with that kind of history.”
Fox News Digital reached out to Caballero for comment.