Border Patrol agent kidnapped, raped middle school student, feds say. He is convicted
After a U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agent kidnapped a 15-year-old student by her Arizona middle school, according to federal prosecutors, he raped her for hours at his apartment in 2022, a jury heard at trial.
Aaron Thomas Mitchell later dropped the girl off at the same spot he abducted her from in Douglas, telling her to keep silent about what happened, prosecutors said. Douglas borders Mexico and is about a 125-mile drive southeast from Tuscon.
The teen “immediately” reported Mitchell had kidnapped and sexually assaulted her and he was interviewed by police, according to prosecutors.
During the interview, he “exclaimed that the victim ‘better hope I don’t get out of here,’” prosecutors said.
A jury found Mitchell guilty of deprivation of rights under color of law and kidnapping of a minor following two days of deliberation, the U.S. Justice Department announced Aug. 30.
Mitchell’s criminal defense attorney, Laura Udall, told McClatchy News on Sept. 2 that they “will be filing an appeal of this conviction.”
A few months after the reported kidnapping and rape, court records show Mitchell was arrested in July 2022 in Miami, where his parents, both retired police officers, live. Mitchell had been a CBP officer for less than a year, after moving to Arizona, at the time of his arrest and previously worked as a terminal agent at the Port of Miami, court documents say.
The abduction
The morning of April 25, 2022, Mitchell found the 15-year-old girl waiting by her middle school in Douglas, and “asked for her papers,” according to prosecutors.
He showed her his police badge, credentials and ordered her to get in his car, prosecutors said.
Mitchell then told the teen that he was driving her to the police station, pulled over a few miles away from her school and handcuffed her hands and feet with two handcuffs, according to prosecutors.
At trial, the girl “testified that, after being handcuffed, the defendant told her to do everything he said because he didn’t want to have to hurt her,” prosecutors said.
Mitchell eventually arrived at his apartment, forced her inside and raped her before he brought her back to the area of her middle school, according to prosecutors.
While under investigation, authorities discovered Mitchell made several online searches on his cellphone about rape and “how to stop someone from screaming” when the girl was at his apartment, according to prosecutors.
He also searched for “how long it takes to smother someone,” prosecutors said.
Mitchell was indicted in the case before he surrendered himself at the FBI Miami Division office, according to court documents. He doesn’t have a previous criminal history, court documents say.
In a statement, Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke, of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, called Mitchell’s actions “heinous” and said he “had a duty to protect his community but instead he abused his power, kidnapped, cuffed and restrained a young girl, and repeatedly sexually assaulted her in his apartment for hours.”
“With this verdict, the jury has done us all a great service by holding accountable this former federal law enforcement official,” Clarke said.
Mitchell is facing up to life in prison, according to prosecutors. His sentencing hearing hasn’t been scheduled as of Sept. 2.
This story was originally published September 2, 2024 at 1:45 PM with the headline "Border Patrol agent kidnapped, raped middle school student, feds say. He is convicted."
.jpg)