Failure to investigate sex crimes
During a three-year period ending in 2007, more than 400 sex-crimes reported to Arpaio's office were inadequately investigated, or not investigated at all. While providing police services for El Mirage, Arizona, the MCSO under Arpaio failed to follow-through on at least 32 reported child molestations, even though the suspects were known in all but six cases. Many of the victims were children of illegal immigrants.[83][87]
Justification for ignoring sex crimes
An internal memo written by one of the detectives assigned to the Morrison case blamed a high case load, saying the special victims unit had gone from five detectives to just three, and the detectives left were often called off their cases to investigate special assignments. They included a credit card fraud case involving the Arizona Diamondbacks and a mortgage fraud case in Arpaio's home city of Fountain Hills.[88]
When county supervisors provided more than $600,000 to fund six additional detective positions to investigate child abuse in fiscal 2007, none were added to the sex-crimes squad. Sheriff’s administrators now say they have no idea where those positions were added or what became of the money after it was added to the budget.[89]
13-year-old rape victim ignored
In a controversial case, Arpaio's office was accused of ignoring Sabrina Morrison, a teenage girl suffering from a mental disability. On March 7, 2007, the 13 year old was raped by her uncle, Patrick Morrison. She told her teacher the next day, and her teacher called the MCSO. A rape kit was taken. But, the detective assigned to the case told Sabrina and her family that there were no obvious signs of sexual assault, no semen, or signs of trauma.[90]
As a result of the detective's statements, Sabrina was branded by her family as a liar. Her uncle continued to repeatedly rape her, saying he would kill her if she told anyone. She became pregnant by him, and had an abortion. The family did not know that the rape kit had been tested at the state lab, and showed the presence of semen. The lab requested that the detective obtain a blood sample from the suspect, Patrick Morrison.[91] Instead of obtaining the blood sample, or making an arrest, the detective filed the crime lab note and closed the case for four years.[91]
It was not until September 2011 that the Sheriff's Office finally obtained a blood sample from Patrick Morrison, which was a DNA match with the semen taken over four years earlier. It wasn't until February 29, 2012, that Patrick Morrison was arrested and charged with one count of sexual conduct with a minor, at which point the MCSO closed the case. Only later was Sabrina's uncle charged with additional indictments based on information obtained from Sabrina by a victim's advocate, after the MCSO had closed the case. Patrick Morrison ultimately pleaded guilty, and was sentenced to 24 years in prison.[91]
In December 2011, responding to continuing media coverage of the controversy, and apparently unaware that there were hundreds of victims in these cases, Arpaio stated, in a press conference, "If there were any victims, I apologize to those victims."[92]
In August 2012, Sabrina Morrison filed a $30 million notice of claim (a precursor to a lawsuit) against Joe Arpaio and Maricopa County for gross negligence, which was eventually settled for $3.5 million.[93][94]