Crime & Safety
Arizona Worker Convicted Of Sex Abuse At Immigrant Youth Shelter
Levian D. Pacheco, 25, of Phoenix, was convicted by a jury of abusing 7 teen boys at a facility where immigrant children were being held.
PHOENIX, AZ — A youth care worker at a shelter where unaccompanied immigrant children were being held was convicted of sexual abuse charges, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office in Arizona. Levian D. Pacheco, 25, of Phoenix was convicted by a jury on Friday of seven counts of abusive sexual contact with a ward and three counts of sexual abuse of a ward, federal prosecutors said.
According to the U.S. Attorney's office, the sexual abuse happened at Casa Kokopelli Southwest Key Facility in Mesa between Aug. 2016 and July 2017. Pacheco was in charge of supervising the minors, officials said. Southwest Key contracts with the Department of Health and Human Services to house immigrant children.
The jury convicted Pacheco of abusing seven teenage buys, some on more than one occasion, federal officials said. The minors were being held in official detention pending possible deportation, according to the U.S. Attorney's office.
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"Ensuring the safety of all individuals held in federal custody is of utmost importance to this office," First Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth A. Strange, said in a statement. "This verdict demonstrates our commitment to securing justice for the teenage boys the defendant abused and sends a message to others in positions of trust that these crimes will not be tolerated."
Pacheco's sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 3.
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A ProPublica report from August first detailed the case against Pacheco, who is HIV positive. Pacheco had worked at the Casa Kokopelli shelter for four months before a complete background check was completed, according to court documents and an agency official, who told ProPublica records didn't show any previous arrests for convictions for sex offenses. The facility had been cited in August 2017 by the Arizona Department of Health Services for failing to complete background checks.
Also in August, a Southwest Key employee in Phoenix was accused of sexually abusing a 14-year-old girl.
Beth Dalbey contributed to this report.
Photo by Eric Gay, File/Associated Press
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