Parker McCollum dismissed Joel Schoepf, a member of his touring staff, earlier this month after Schoepf was arrested and faced charges for online solicitation of a minor under 14.
Schoepf was serving as the assistant road manager for McCollum when he was arrested on November 13, Taste of Country reported.
According to McCollum's team, the artist terminated Schoepf's employment around the time of his arrest and that McCollum acted quickly to fire Schoepf as soon as he learned about the allegations. McCollum has refrained from making any public comments about the situation.
Joel Schoepf's arrest and charges against him
Schoepf allegedly contacted the founder of the organization, Alex Rosen, online and subsequently met him at a McDonald's in New Braunfels, Texas, under the impression that he was meeting a 13-year-old boy. This meeting resulted in Schoepf's arrest by the New Braunfels Police Department, after which he was taken to Comal County Jail.
{{/usCountry}}Schoepf allegedly contacted the founder of the organization, Alex Rosen, online and subsequently met him at a McDonald's in New Braunfels, Texas, under the impression that he was meeting a 13-year-old boy. This meeting resulted in Schoepf's arrest by the New Braunfels Police Department, after which he was taken to Comal County Jail.
{{/usCountry}}Taste of Country has verified with the jail that Schoepf was detained on November 13. His bail was set at $50,000, and he was released the following day.
He faces charges for the second-degree felony offense of online solicitation of a minor under the age of 14. On November 25, Schoepf's legal representatives submitted a letter of representation along with a request for discovery to the court.
Who is Joel Schoepf?
Schoepf, a resident of New Braunfels, possesses a comprehensive background as a tour manager, stage manager, and production manager within the Texas country music industry.
According to his LinkedIn profile, he served as McCollum's road manager for almost three years and has also been a guitar technician for the artist since July 2021.
Schoepf's LinkedIn further states that he has been a production manager for Willie Nelson's Luck Reunion Festival since 2012 and acted as the tour manager for the country-rock band Reckless Kelly from 2020 to 2022.
In addition, he worked with Cross Canadian Ragweed from 2006 to 2010 and was involved with Cody Canada's band The Departed from 2011 to 2013.
Schoepf has not encountered any federal sex crime allegations in the past. His only publicly accessible arrest record dates back to 2003, when he faced charges for possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia in Washington County, Texas, along with several vehicle-related offenses.