Ex-border agent found guilty of kidnapping and sexually abusing teenager

A former U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agent has been found guilty of kidnapping a teenage girl and sexually assaulting her.

Aaron Mitchell was convicted of a federal civil rights violation and kidnapping, where his actions consisted of aggravated sexual abuse, abduction and bodily injury to a minor. The jury’s verdict came Friday, Aug. 30, after two days of deliberation, according to a statement from the DoJ.

During the two-week trial, the jury heard evidence that Mitchell traveled to Douglas, Arizona, on April 25, 2022, where he abducted the 15-year-old girl who was waiting outside her school. He approached her as a police officer, demanded her credentials, flashed his badge and claimed he was taking her to the police station.

Instead of driving her there, however, he took her to his apartment, handcuffed her, and abused her for several hours. After the attack, Mitchell drove the girl back to her school and warned her not to report the incident. However, the teen immediately informed her family, friends, and the police about the abduction and attack.

“We count on our law enforcement officers to protect children, schools, and communities,” U.S. Attorney for the District of Arizona Gary Restaino said in a statement. “This defendant dishonored his badge and his colleagues by ignoring his oath and harming the most vulnerable among us.”

“The horrific crimes committed against a young high school student by a person charged with enforcing the law are unspeakable,” Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division said in a statement.

The case was investigated by the Douglas Police Department and the FBI Phoenix Field Office. Further investigation revealed that Mitchell had conducted online searches related to rape and methods of silencing victims before and during the crime. The Justice Department also said that during his interview with police, Mitchell told the girl “you better hope I don’t get out of here.”

Mitchell was arrested on July 28, 2022. A sentencing date has not yet been set, but the Department of Justice has confirmed he faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.

A 2023 study from Bowling Green State University focused on police officers arrested for sex-related crimes and found that in 1,355 of 3,383 criminal arrests between 2005 and 2017, the officer used his or her police authority to commit such crimes. The study notes that due to the high number of unreported cases, the true figure is likely higher.

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