Long-Time Texas Music Manager Accused of Soliciting a Minor
Long-time Texas music tour, stage, and production manager Joel Schoepf has been accused of “online solicitation of a minor under 14.” Schoepf was arrested in New Braunfels, TX, and booked into the Comal County Jail on November 13th, Saving Country Music has confirmed.
Joel Schoepf is well-known throughout the Texas country music industry, and has worked in a number of different capacities. He worked as a stage manager/production manager for Dickson Productions who produces Colorado’s MusicFest at Steamboat Springs from 2002 until 2014. Through this time he also worked as the stage manager and guitar tech for Cross Canadian Ragweed from 2006 to 2010, and for Cody Canada and The Departed from 2011 to 2013.
Schoepf also worked at the production manager at Floore’s Country Store near San Antonio from 2013-2020, and was the tour manager for Reckless Kelly from 2020-2022. He’s also worked on the production team for Willie Nelson’s Luck Reunion every March during SXSW since 2012 to the present. Schoeph was working as the stage manager for Parker McCollum when the arrest happened. McCollum immediately fired him.
Saving Country Music reached out to both the New Braunfels Police Department, as well as the Comal County Jail to attempt to get more details into the circumstances of the arrest. But due to the nature of the charge, the documents are sealed under state law.
The arrest appears to stem from a sting operation by Predator Poachers, which is a Houston-based vigilante justice organization operated by online personality Alex Rosen. The organization has stirred controversy in the past and been accused of using entrapment practices, but often works with law enforcement when prosecutable offenses occur.
Alex Rosen announced Schoepf’s arrest on his X account on November 14th. Often Predator Poachers stings are accompanied by YouTube video releases. The video for Joel Schoepf has been posted on a subscriber-only Locals account, but not on YouTube at this time.
UPDATE: You can now view the video on YouTube HERE (caution: it is disturbing).
In the video, Schoeph confesses to the online solicitation, to possessing and circulating child pornography at one point, and to inviting another individual to his house to look at child porn. Schoeph meets Alex Rosen at a McDonald’s where he thought he was meeting up with a 13-year-old boy. Schoeph then flees to his vehicle, and Rosen follows him where he gets Schoeph to talk to him and confess, thinking he’s helping to catch the other pedophile that he’s been interacting with.
Schoeph confesses to using Reddit, Telegram, and the dating app Sniffies in access porn and to interact with other individuals interest in child pornography. The video ends with Schoeph being arrested by the New Braunfels Police Department.
Saving Country Music has reached out to Predator Poachers for more information, but has not heard back.
This story has been updated with further information after given access to the Predator Poachers video. More information about the arrest if/when it becomes available.
– – – – – – –
If you found this article valuable, consider leaving Saving Country Music A TIP.
November 30, 2025 @ 8:58 am
Holy crap !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Another accused attempted child molester ??????? What on Earth is going on with some of the good (?) ol’ boys?
November 30, 2025 @ 10:34 am
Atta boy Alex. Best of the best.
November 30, 2025 @ 10:59 am
Sick. Sick. Sick. This is the time he got caught, but it’s clearly not his 1st rodeo destroying children’s lives.
November 30, 2025 @ 11:24 am
This is so very sad. I had met and spoken with Joel numerous times over the years and always found him to be a good person. I don’t know the circumstances and would never condone this behavior but I will always show Joel the same kindness and respect he has shown me.
November 30, 2025 @ 4:59 pm
He’s innocent until proven guilty, but the evidence described in the article sounds pretty damning.
December 2, 2025 @ 10:25 am
You should watch the video and hear it from his mouth.
November 30, 2025 @ 11:52 am
You failed to mention that he has been on the road with Parker McCollum since 2021.
November 30, 2025 @ 4:37 pm
Boy, you’d really have to be depraved to do something like what Schoepf is accused of.
You’d think that after “Dateline NBC” “To Catch a Predator,” countless news reports, et al, a worldly person would just figure that an on line solicitation for sex with a minor is a trap–setting you up for either an arrrest or a robbery. But there’s always another sicko/sucker who gets snared, it seems.
BTW, I Googled Joel Schoepf to see if there’s any update–Has he been arraigned, released on bail, etc.? The only news that comes up are lindks to the abover article on “Saving Country Music.”
Even more interesting another link pops up to an article on this site from over 5 years ago! There, a “Joel Shoepf”–presumably the same guy–in the comment section, snarks at Trigger for reporting on a lawsuit by the “Turnpike Troubadours” against their management company.
https://savingcountrymusic.com/turnpike-troubadours-jason-boland-file-suit-against-management/
No indication of Shcoepf’s connection to that sompany, Cory McDaniels Enterprises LLC.
November 30, 2025 @ 4:54 pm
My understanding after speaking to the New Braunfels Police Department is that information on this case is going to be extremely limited due to the nature of the charges and to protect any potential victims. At some point if he is convicted, he will have to register as a sex offender, which obviously will be part of the public record.
I had completely forgotten about that interaction back in 2020 until someone else posted a screenshot of it on Facebook under a link to this article. I was a wild, blindside attack that came across as a non-sequitur, and I still don’t really understand what that was all about aside from maybe he was friends with Cory McDaniels.
November 30, 2025 @ 10:30 pm
Weird – seems that somebody going by the name “Pat Green” knew something was up with this guy based on his comment back then.
November 30, 2025 @ 11:34 pm
The showbiz industry are full of depraved souls, just like the society in general.
Ashley Judd wrote about being raped as a child by a big name in country music. Since she never named the guy, every known male singer from the period was accused of the misdeed in the online forums.
That’s how it is, and until someone is brought to justice, they are innocent. Or that’s how we’re told it should be.
As for Schoepf… obviously, he fucked up big time. Sadly, our legal system goes soft on certain crimes these days. And jail isn’t a punishment neither, since the jails are full of guys like him.
December 1, 2025 @ 1:51 am
Glad he’s being charged if this is true but I have absolutely no faith in vigilante groups. It seems that in many cases the people running them end up in hot water themselves.
December 1, 2025 @ 8:23 am
After having watched the video, I have little doubt that the individual in question possessed child porn, shared child porn, has a predilection that he acted out upon in multiple capacities, though all of this must be proven before he’s rendered guilty. I am glad someone stopped this cycle before anyone else was victimized.
That said, I have a general aversion to “journalism” where your express attempt is to deceive people into believe you’re someone you’re not, and in law enforcement that utilizes entrapment practices to try to lure people into behavior that otherwise might have a slight predilection to, but would never act out upon unless goaded in that direction. The Gretchen Whitmer kidnapping comes to mind.
I’m not saying what Alex Rosen did was wrong. He probably is taking predators off the streets. But in that action, and with the way he’s doing this, there are probably people who would not act out on these impulses that do because they’re lured in by someone simply looking for a collar.
December 1, 2025 @ 9:45 am
I have the same caution far as groups like this or even bounty hunters. Im always seeing those videos of bounty hunters and hoping this is the day i see one of them get shot but it never happens. However with child predator stuff, i feel almost all those people, certainly cant say all, but most have already acted on that stuff in one way or another so i dont have an issue with it. Why would a guy think its ok to meet up with a random 13 year old kid hes chatting with on the internet at a mcdonalds. If its 18 to 20 year olds, i would be more skeptical but this guy is obviously much older. So no i dont have any problem here. At the very least he will get flagged as a child predator and thats a good thing.
December 1, 2025 @ 3:20 pm
Did you really just say you hope someone gets shot?
December 2, 2025 @ 3:40 pm
Yea i said that. I dont like bounty hunters. They def ask for it.
December 1, 2025 @ 3:52 pm
What must have happened here is the vigilante was communicating with Schoepf and pretending to be a 13-year-old boy and they were discussing meeting to have sexual contact. It could may have gone on for some time. Maybe they exhchaged photos (and the vigilante sent Schoepf some stock photo of a kid). When Schoepf indicated that he was ready to do it, the vigilantes called the police and the police reviewed the series of messages and supervised the final one, where they set-up the time and place, and the police were there to make the arrest. If the did not supervising the final sting and arrest, it would not stand up in court.
December 2, 2025 @ 10:40 am
They’re not a vigilante group, though.
Alex employs folks that run decoy accounts. The preds, in this case, Schoepf, reach out and initiate the conversation first, then of course they’ll set up a meeting place with the victim, where Alex will then show up, he always lets them know first thing they’re not being held and can leave at anytime, where they then will go over the text/message conversations. Cops are called, chat logs are gone over, video taken of the conversation goes to the authorities. Then it’s up to the police what happens next, sometimes they do their jobs, sometimes they do not.
December 2, 2025 @ 9:42 pm
I don’t think that would stand up in court if the police are not running the sting when the crime occurs.
For one thing, there’s actually no kid involved. It’s been held that authorized law enforcement officials, trained in investigatory methods, and sworn to follow the law, can create an imaginary kid to lure pedophiles on-line–and that if someone arrangess to meet up with the nonexistent kid for sex and shows up at the door, he can be charged with a crime.
It has not been held that volunteer private citizens have the power to do that.
BTW, “doing their jobs” for law enforcement officers and prosecutors, means upholding constitutional protections–not necessarily prosecuting someone for a “prepackaged crime” delivered to them by someone who may have commercial or other motivations.
December 3, 2025 @ 10:13 am
Luckyoldsun, here to talk to you about Emily, ok?
Part of the deal is this convo always leads to them admitting, on camera, possessing CP on their phone giving them probable cause. Most of the time they’ll tell on themselves to the police when they show up.
As of a few months ago they have arrests in 48 states, convictions in 41(?), doesn’t hold up as much as we’d like to see, but it does hold up. I’ll never understand any kind of pushback when it involves kids, imaginary or not.
December 1, 2025 @ 8:00 am
Well done to the vigilante group. They so often do the job the police simply do not have the resources to do and are remarkably successful. If they save just one child from the depraved, it is a good job. Their evidence is so often very strong and next to impossible to defend against. It does sound like Joel is in serious trouble. If guilty, he has no excuse and I am pleased he has been caught.
December 1, 2025 @ 4:02 pm
Well, it’s worth pointing out that self-appointed, publicity-generating saviors of children have a pretty high rate of child sexual abuse.. Many of the really prominent ones have had their careers end in scandal and arrest, including Father Bruce Ritter, who set up Covenant House near Times Square in New York as a safe-house for runaways, Father Shanley in Boston, and loads of vigilantes. I’d look at any vigilante wti trepidation.
December 2, 2025 @ 6:46 am
More like worst of the worst,Anderson.
December 2, 2025 @ 10:41 am
Read my comment again. Alex is the best of the best in pred catching.
December 3, 2025 @ 1:38 am
For years I’ve read and heard about these stings on TV and elsewhere, and I’ve come to wonder if in the real world, unattractive middle-aged men successfully consummate sexual relations with real-life kids they met online? I mean really, have you seen the mug shots of these creeps over the years? What teeny-bopper would have anything to do with them after meeting them face-to-face? Not trying to be prurient, but I’d sure like to hear some accounts of these hookups where police weren’t involved! Is this kind of activity really a “thing?” I really have no idea, as nobody in my social circle engages in it (as far as I know) and everything I’ve heard about it comes from breathless, sensational media accounts.
December 3, 2025 @ 8:03 am
Pedophilia most definitely is a real issue. Check the record of the Catholic priesthood. In this case, the subject also admitted to both possessing and shared child pornography. But how much do these random online hookups like this actually happen? I’d say that’s a very good question. My guess is they do happen to some extent. But the ratio to random hookup vs. sting operation is probably pretty high.
December 3, 2025 @ 9:35 am
Actually, teachers commit the act at a higher percentage than Catholic priests.
December 4, 2025 @ 1:35 am
That’s nonsense.
More kids are molested by teachers than priests–sure. Because every kid has several teachers and only a minority of kids have contact with priests at all.
But on a one-to-one basis, or apples-to-apples comparison?
Most of the archdiocese in the country have gone bankrupt–or are close to it–because of verdicts and settlements in regard to child molestation by priests or brothers.
December 4, 2025 @ 9:36 am
A professional study backs my point.
Public schools should go bankrupt over settlements but they are “too big to fail” and can draw from the taxpayer’s pocketbook.
December 4, 2025 @ 10:06 am
The rate is also fairly consistent across denominations. Unfortunately, these creeps are everywhere.
December 3, 2025 @ 6:08 am
No mercy for child molesters.
December 3, 2025 @ 10:31 am
The entitlement some (many) individuals working in entertainment develop over others in a million different ways – preying on children being one – is rampant and part of why I chose to leave the industry. Anyone who isn’t “someone worthy” is less-than and sub human to many people in the industry. It’s a sick delusional lifestyle. Of course there are exceptions but in a game of statistics, it’s not a kind or healthy world to be a part of. I pray for the children affected and the souls of those thrashing through life in entitlement and predation.
December 5, 2025 @ 8:41 am
Full video here!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=USliF8KzbxM
December 5, 2025 @ 9:54 am
Thanks for the heads up. I’ve added the link to the story. But I do caution people before watching the video. I found it q
December 5, 2025 @ 9:55 am
Thanks for sharing. I’ve added it to the article. However, I do caution folks before watching it. It’s quite disturbing, and it’s kind of haunted me ever since I’ve watched it.