I will stand by him and love him

In an effort  to silence me certain people have opened an old wound to shame me into acquiescence and make my family suffer.

 I have been a showman all my life. That is how I have been able to escape poverty, become a voice for my people and earn a living. However, I do not live my private life on stage.  It has always been very clear to me that I am a musician, but also a husband, a family man and a father.

 As a father, I have to protect my sons. Patrick Colón is my son. I will not abandon him, no matter how difficult, painful or shameful the circumstances. That is what fathers do.

I hope that one day Patrick will come out to tell his story.   I'll be right there beside him.  I will not pressure him or put words in his mouth. I know that his time has not yet arrived. God willing, my son will get stronger, face his demons, learn to carry his "Scarlet Letter" and find his way to make sure that what happened to him will not keep happening to other young men lost in the internet trying to escape reality because they had not yet found their place in life. His story will then become more than the scandal of the day. It will serve its purpose.  All of his pain and suffering, all of our pain and suffering as a family, will not have happened in vain.

So, I ask for your respect for me and for my family. I ask you to put yourself in my shoes. What would you do if you were my son's father; if you see him trying to commit suicide, living in shame, thinking that he has lost all hopes for a life due to an offense he committed when he was 21 years old?  He did not kill anyone; he did not rape anyone. He never even spoke to anybody.  He watched child pornography on the internet. Maybe you would turn your back on him and tell him "You are no longer my son". 

Luckily, Patrick Colón is not your son. He is my son.  And even though I am mad as hell at him, I will not turn my back on him. I have seen before what happens when in order to come out clean, you leave those who are lost and suffering alone. We have owned this and gone through this with open eyes. Patrick will make it because he is a remarkable young man and as long as I am alive, and maybe even after that, I will stand by him and love him.