Democratic congressional candidate Bobby Pulido is facing scrutiny over his association with a registered sex offender, Kate Santaliz, who performed at a Texas middle school benefit concert in 2018.
According to promotional materials and a video reviewed by Axios, Pulido, along with accordionist Frankie Caballero (a registered sex offender) and the rest of Pulido's band, performed at an event to raise money for Harwell Middle School in Edinburg, Texas. Children were present in the audience during the performance.
Pulido has denied knowing about Caballero's status as a registered sex offender at the time of the concert, but records show that Caballero had completed his four-year prison sentence stemming from his 2014 conviction and was listed on Texas' sex offender registry. Pulido has publicly described a close professional relationship with Caballero dating back to the 1990s.
Caballero's criminal history dates back to at least 1992, including multiple sex crime charges. In 2021, he pleaded guilty to assaulting his daughter by "impeding [her] normal breathing." Pulido has continued to tour and perform with Caballero despite these allegations.
The incident raises questions about Pulido's knowledge of Caballero's status as a registered sex offender and whether it is appropriate for him to have performed at an event where children were present.