DOUGLAS, AZ (AZFamily) — A jury found a former U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent guilty of kidnapping a middle school student and repeatedly raping her in his apartment.
Aaron Mitchell was convicted of a federal civil rights offense and a kidnapping charge for sexually assaulting and kidnapping the 15-year-old.
The jury also found Mitchell’s crimes included aggravated sexual abuse and kidnapping that resulted in bodily injury.
Warning: Graphic details ahead; discretion advised
On the morning of April 25, 2002, he approached the girl crossing from Mexico into Arizona on her normal route to school in Douglas.
He told her he was with law enforcement and asked her to show him her documents, which she gave to him.
Mitchell ordered her to get into his car and said he needed to take her to the police station.
But instead, he handcuffed her arms and legs during the hour-long drive to his apartment in Sierra Vista.
The victim testified that Mitchell told her to do everything he said because he didn’t want to hurt her, the Justice Department said.
Once he forced her into his apartment, he repeatedly and violently assaulted and raped the girl for hours.
At one point, she told police he squeezed her neck so hard she thought she would die.
“The heinous crimes committed against a young middle school student by an individual sworn to uphold the law are unspeakable,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.
Mitchell then dropped her back off in Douglas and told her he’d keep her backpack because it had his DNA on it.
Once Mitchell had left, the girl immediately told her friends, family, and the police what had happened.
Authorities said Mitchell lied to them about what happened but his DNA came back on the girl and rape kit.
Surveillance photos also showed Mitchell carrying her backpack to a dumpster and returning without it.
Police also said Mitchell’s cellphone had numerous searches regarding rape and how to stop someone from screaming.
While the girl was in his apartment, he also searched the internet for how long it takes to smother someone
“We count on our law enforcement officers to protect children, schools and communities,” said U.S. Attorney Gary Restaino for the District of Arizona. “This defendant dishonored his badge and his colleagues by ignoring his oath and harming the most vulnerable among us.”
Mitchell’s trial lasted two weeks and it took the jury two days to come to a verdict.
Mitchell will be sentenced at a date that has yet to be announced. He faces up to life in prison.
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