After ten years of keeping it locked away out of fear of judgment, Rae Lopez finally found the courage in 2025 to share his story on Facebook.
He started with two simple words, “S*x offender,” and attached a photo of Jordan Garcia from the sex-offender registry.
What followed was a heartbreaking account of a night in 2015 that changed everything, opening the door for many others to share their own painful secrets.
Back in 11th grade, Rae was a shy, closeted gay teenager who had just switched schools and felt completely left out.
His parents were conservative Christians; his dad helped start the chaplaincy program for Border Patrol and was well-known in the community, so Rae already carried the weight of their reputation.
When Jordan Garcia, an older guy, messaged him and offered him a ride to his very first house party, Rae saw a chance to fit in finally. He snuck out that night, excited to feel normal for once.
The night quickly turned into a nightmare. Instead of heading to the party, Jordan drove Rae and another boy, whom Rae calls CJ, to a dark, empty monte near Buena Vista, an area full of dirt roads and half-built houses.
Jordan said they owed him for the ride and demanded they “mess around.” When the boys hesitated and started texting each other for help, Jordan pulled out a hunting rifle from his car and made it clear they weren’t leaving until he got what he wanted.
The rain started pouring down. Jordan pressured CJ first, but CJ asked Rae to switch seats, hoping Rae could handle it better.
Rae tried to stall by saying he would only do anything if he were drunk. Jordan handed him a water bottle filled with stolen liquor and made him chug it, then shoved chewing tobacco in his mouth.
When Rae still resisted, Jordan locked the doors, grew angry, and threatened to abandon them in the middle of nowhere.
Terrified and worried about getting home before his dad woke up for his 4 a.m. shift, Rae gave in.
Jordan forced Rae to perform oral sex while he drove, pushing Rae’s head down and laughing that he had always wanted “road head.”
He lasted at least five minutes.
After picking up two popular girls from school, the class president and a varsity cheerleader, Jordan forced Rae again on the way home, this time trying to pull off Rae’s pants.
Rae threw up. Jordan got mad, dragged him out of the truck in his own driveway, and sped away.
Rae told no one. He was only sixteen, ashamed, and had no idea what to do. He went to school the following week and pretended everything was fine.
Then the rumors started. At first, people whispered about “two guys.” Soon, the story twisted into two football players.
CJ’s name was everywhere, and his reputation was taking a hit. The class president invited Rae to IHOP on Free Pancake Day.
The restaurant was packed with classmates. Once they sat down, she looked Rae in the eye and said it wasn’t fair that he was letting CJ suffer when Rae “didn’t even have a reputation to lose.”
She told him to admit it was him, right there, in front of everyone. People turned to stare. Rae said the words: “It was me.”
Life became unbearable after that. Kids shouted names in the hallways.
In the cafeteria, someone pointed at Rae and yelled, and the whole room exploded with laughter. Rae’s heart pounded so hard he could barely see straight.
His friend Rya from the youth group found him crying and pulled him into a hallway to comfort him, but nothing felt okay.
Rae begged the few friends he had left to vote for CJ to take the heat off himself. Most friends disappeared anyway.
The bullying lasted months, feeding Rae’s internal homophobia and leaving him feeling unsafe and alone.
Ten years later, Rae decided enough was enough. He shared every detail of the Buena Vista gunpoint assault and the bullying that followed.
He ended his post by saying, “Imagine if this was a girl. Because there were many girls that reached out to me with similar stories.”
Unexpectedly, comments flooded in from women sharing that they had similar experiences with the same guy.
One friend wrote that Jordan put her in the same position. -:
“Another friend of mine was put in the same position by this same a**hole. Neither of y’all deserved that. And I’m so sorry it happened to you, Babes”
Via Facebook
Another said she was assaulted by two guys in high school and had never told a soul in ten years until she saw Rae’s courage.
Several women said Jordan and his friends spread lies about them when they turned him down.
Him and his friends! I blocked him and shortly after one of his friends tried to get close to me and when I realized they were close friends and he was also a creep I cut him off too and he went around telling all their friend group he did disgusting things to me (which never happened) they’re disgusting people and I’m sorry you had to experience it first hand. Here for you if you ever need someone to talk to, much love
Via Facebook
One said she blocked him, and his friend still made up sexual stories about her to the whole friend group.
Rae wrote in the comments,
“Me sharing my story allowed others to share theirs too. For there to be that many people with similar experiences… I was not expecting that and was blown out the water. He’s a predator and he’s working at the school district. Oh, and he’s a dad…”
Via FAcebook
Rae says most men never speak up about their abuse. It took him a full decade to find the strength.
Now he wishes he had done it sooner, but he also believes the timing is right—because his story finally permitted other survivors to talk.
He ended his post with a sentence that hit hard: “Imagine if this was a girl. Because there were many girls that reached out to me with similar stories.”
The nightmare started with a gun pointed at the mouth near Buena Vista. Ten years later, Rae Lopez made sure the world finally heard the truth.
