Ex-border agent gets 27 years in kidnapping, rape of Arizona girl

A former U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer has been sentenced to 27 years in prison for the 2022 kidnapping and sexual assault of a 15-year-old Douglas girl.

Aaron Mitchell, 30, was sentenced Thursday in Tucson by U.S. District Court Judge Rosemary Marquez. He faced up to life in prison for kidnapping and deprivation of rights under color of law.

At trial, prosecutors alleged Mitchell found the girl waiting for school to start. He introduced himself as a law enforcement officer and ordered her into his car.

Mitchell then bound the girl’s hands and feet with handcuffs and drove for nearly an hour to his apartment, prosecutors said. There, Mitchell repeatedly sexually assaulted her over the course of several hours before driving her back to an alley near her middle school, prosecutors said.

The girl immediately reported the abduction and assault to friends, family and law enforcement.

Prosecutors said Mitchell told police the young girl, “better hope I don’t get out,” according to a news release from the US Attorney’s Office in Arizona.

An examination of Mitchell’s cellphone showed he conducted numerous internet searches regarding rape and “how to stop someone from screaming.” And during the time he had the girl captive, he searched the internet for how long it takes to smother someone, the release said.

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During Thursday’s sentencing, the girl tried to make a statement to the court. But she became too overwhelmed, resulting in an advocate for victims reading the girl’s statement, the Arizona Republic reported.

“I still remember how I told him I was just a kid and all he said was: ’I don’t want to hurt you, so do everything I say,’” the advocate read. “’He did hurt me, more than anyone ever did.’”

Kristen Clarke, an assistant attorney general in the civil rights division of the US Attorney’s Office, called the attack “unspeakable.”

“The heinous crimes committed against a young middle school student by an individual sworn to uphold the law are unspeakable,” Clarke said in a news release. “This defendant had a duty to protect his community but instead he abused his power.”

Mitchell was also sentenced to lifetime probation.