Miami judge seals high-profile defamation suit filed after state dropped child sex abuse case
Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Peter R. Lopez has sealed all court records in a high-profile defamation lawsuit brought by Jozef Opdeweegh against the parents and grandfather of a 6-year-old girl who accused him of sexually molesting her at a May 2017 pool party.
Judge Lopez’s temporary order puts off limits any information about the case, including the docket, which is no longer available via the Miami-Dade Clerk of the Court’s website or by going to the clerk’s records office. That means there is no public notice of court filings or upcoming hearing dates – like the one Lopez said in his order he’ll hold to decide whether to lift the seal or make it permanent.
“The court finds that it is necessary and reasonable to require that the file be sealed,” Lopez wrote in his April 9 order. “All parties to this action have informed the court that they do not object to entry of this order.”
Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Peter R. Lopez has sealed all court records in a high-profile defamation lawsuit brought by Jozef Opdeweegh against the parents and grandfather of a 6-year-old girl who accused him of sexually molesting her at a May 2017 pool party. Judge Lopez’s temporary order puts off limits any information about the case, including the docket, which is no longer available via the Miami-Dade Clerk of the Court’s website or by going to the clerk’s records office. That means there is no public notice of court filings or upcoming hearing dates – like the one Lopez said in his order he’ll hold to decide whether to lift the seal or make it permanent. “The court finds that it is necessary and reasonable to require that the file be sealed,” Lopez wrote in his April 9 order. “All parties to this action have informed the court that they do not object to entry of this order.”