A U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer has been arrested on suspicion of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl, officials say.
Aaron Mitchell, 27, allegedly abducted the girl who was walking to school in Douglas on April 25, then sexually assaulted her.
Mitchell approached the girl in his car and told her he was a law enforcement officer, according to a Douglas Police Department news release. Mitchell was wearing a tactical vest labeled “police” and asked the girl for immigration documentation, she told police.
Mitchell, who works at the Douglas Port of Entry and has been employed by the agency since 2021, then told the girl he was taking her to the police department.
Police say they believe he then restrained the girl and put her in the car. Mitchell then drove the girl to an apartment in Sierra Vista where he allegedly sexually assaulted her, the news release said.
He drove her back to Douglas in the afternoon, police said.
Douglas police arrested Mitchell on April 26 with assistance from the Sierra Vista Police Department and booked him into the Cochise County jail.
The investigation continues.
“CBP stresses honor and integrity in every aspect of our mission, and the overwhelming majority of CBP employees and officers perform their duties with honor and distinction, working tirelessly every day to keep our country safe,” CBP said in a statement.
“We do not tolerate corruption or abuse within our ranks, and we cooperate fully with all criminal or administrative investigations of alleged misconduct by any of our personnel, whether it occurs on or off duty.”
