DOUGLAS, Ariz. — A federal jury has convicted a former Border Patrol agent of abducting and sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl in southern Arizona.
Aaron Mitchell was found guilty of both a federal civil rights offense and a kidnapping charge for an incident reported in 2022.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Mitchell traveled to Douglas and abducted a teenage girl.
Evidence presented during the two-week trial indicated Mitchell approached the student as she was waiting for school to start and "asked for her papers" before showing his law enforcement credentials.
He then ordered the girl into his car and said he was going to transport her to the police station.
Prosecutors said Mitchell then restrained her and brought the victim back to his apartment where he sexually assaulted her over the course of several hours. Mitchell eventually transported the girl back to school and told her not to tell anyone.
Investigators later learned Mitchell had made an internet search while he was holding the girl captive to find out "how long it takes to smother someone," prosecutors said.
The former Border Patrol agent is now facing a life sentence.
“This defendant dishonored his badge and his colleagues by ignoring his oath and harming the most vulnerable among us," U.S. Attorney Gary Restaino said in a statement.
UP TO SPEED
What is the Valley?:
“The Valley” is what locals call the Phoenix Metropolitan Area. It is considered the largest metropolitan area in the Southwest.
The Valley is made up of various major cities other than Phoenix, including:
- Mesa
- Chandler
- Scottsdale
- Tempe
- Glendale
- Surprise
- Peoria
- Gilbert
- El Mirage
- Avondale
- Litchfield Park
- Goodyear
- Buckeye
Whether a city is in the “East Valley” or “West Valley” depends on where it is in relation to Phoenix.
The cities of the Valley have a combined population of 4,845,832 people, according to the 2020 United States Census. This makes it the 11th largest metropolitan area in the country right behind the Boston and Atlanta areas.
How big is Maricopa County?
Maricopa County is the United States’ 4th largest county in terms of population with 4,485,414 people, according to the 2020 Census.
The county contains around 63% of Arizona’s population and is 9,224 square miles. That makes the county larger than seven U.S. states (Rhode Island, Delaware, Connecticut, Hawaii, New Jersey, Massachusetts and New Hampshire).
One of the largest park systems in the nation is also located in Maricopa County. The county has an estimated 120,000 acres of open space parks that includes hundreds of miles of trails, nature centers and campgrounds.
The county’s seat is located in Phoenix, which is also the state capital and the census-designated 5th most populous city in the United States.
The county was named after the Maricopa, or Piipaash, Native American Tribe.
