Phoenix Police to Pay Millions to Victim in Botched Rape Investigation
LatestThe Maricopa County Sheriff’s office, headed by controversial figure Joe Arpaio, has agreed to pay $3.5 million to settle a lawsuit that alleged the office mishandled the rape of a 13-year-old-girl.
The lawsuit indicated that two weeks after the assault, lab officials requested a blood sample from the suspect whose identity was known to the police. Arpaio’s office failed to respond to the lab’s request and did nothing to investigate the case for three years. During that time, the suspect continued his assaults on the girl. The girl became pregnant from one of the attacks and had an abortion.