John Vigileos, a Tempe-based criminal-defense attorney, is being held without bond at the Maricopa County Jail after confessing to Gilbert police that he sexually molested his 12-year-old step-daughter at his home.

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Bruce Branscom and Jose Alfredo Rivera were arrested on New Year's Day in separate cases on suspicion of molesting little girls.

The arrest of men on suspicion of sexual misconduct with their own family members makes for a journalistic conundrum: Name the suspect, and you've all but identified the victim.

Local media was presented with this challenge yesterday -- twice. Court records show that two men -- Jose Alfredo Rivera of Glendale and Bruce Branscom of Mesa -- were arrested on New Year's Day in separate cases after being accused of sexual activity with 12- and 13-year-old girls.

In our blog post yesterday, you'll see that we decided to name the men without stating their relationship to the victims. Not sure if that's the best way, but when a guy is accused of committing a horrific crime like that, we tend to believe that he doesn't deserve anonymity.

The Arizona Republic, on the other hand, decided for inexplicable reasons to name one suspect -- and describe his relationship with the victim -- but not the other.

The story by reporter Angela Piazza about Rivera states clearly that the victim is his stepdaughter. (Thus defeating New Times' attempt to cloak the relationship between the two, as New Times accidentally defeated the Republic's attempt to hide the suspect's identity.)

The Republic states that, "the suspect's name is being withheld by The Arizona Republic to protect the victim's identity."

But now the truth is out, for better or worse -- as it is in the Branscom case.

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Image: Maricopa County Sheriff's Office

Bruce Allan Branscom

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Jose Alfredo Rivera of Glendale and Bruce Allan Branscom of Mesa likely don't know each other, but they've got something in common:

Both were arrested on New Year's Day for allegedly molesting 12-year-old girls.

The situations are separate, but also shockingly similar. The suspects knew the victims in both cases.

Branscom's a 28-year-old Internet designer who's accused of touching the breasts and vagina of a 12-year-old girl over several weeks, court records show. She's 13 now.

Police arrested him after hearing from the girl and her mother -- he lawyered up right away.


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Image: www.fbi.gov

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A year-long child-porn investigation led FBI agents this summer to a Maricopa teenager with a personal stash of 500 videos and pictures of sexually exploited children.

The case was outlined in court records filed yesterday by the Arizona U.S. Attorney's Office, which requests the forfeiture of computer equipment seized from the kid's home.

The kid, who's either 17 or 18, hasn't been charged yet, so we'll hold off on naming him. Suffice to say, it looks like he's in big trouble.


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MCSO

Jonathan James Knight

​Jonathan Knight, a children's Tae Kwon Do instructor in Glendale, was in Maricopa County Superior Court this morning where he pleaded not guilty to charges that he sent photos of his penis to one of his 12-year-old female students.

Knight was arrested last month and faces four counts of furnishing obscene material to a minor and one count of aggravated luring of a child for sexual exploitation.

According to court documents obtained by New Times, in early October, the girl's father discovered text messages Knight had sent his daughter and confronted her about them. Knight's message said the girl was "gorgeous" and that he loved her.

Other messages Knight sent -- including a photo of his penis -- had been deleted by the girl, she later admitted to her father.

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MCSO

"Uncle Jerry" Morrow.

​If there was a pervert hall of shame, "Uncle Jerry" Morrow would certainly be a first ballot inductee -- he admitted to being a pedophile, and police suspect he's molested nearly 20 kids dating as far back as 1976.

Morrow was arrested last night at his home at 4807 South 339th Avenue in Tonopah after three of his nephews, who are now adults, told Maricopa County Sheriff's Deputies he molested them for years when they were children.

One of the nephews told police he was waiting for his grandparents -- Morrow's parents -- to die before he came forward with his allegations against their son.

According to court documents obtained by New Times, one of the nephews recalls being abused by Morrow for the first time when he was five years old. The abuse ended, the victim later told police, when he was about 13.

Of the multiple times the victim says Morrow sexually abused him, one incident is particularly atrocious.

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Ali Chitza's Facebook page

Ali Chitzas holding a child (not the victim) is pretty terrifying.

​A Scottsdale man is accused of peeing on his girlfriend's son -- but that was only after he forced the boy to perform oral sex on him on multiple occasions. 

According to court records obtained by New Times, 32-year-old Ali Chitsaz, an employee at Chiropractic Leadership, is being held without bail for allegedly molesting the boy on at least four occasions.

Chitsaz met the boy's mother on Match.com, a dating website, about four months ago. She introduced her son to Chitsaz in July, and the three started spending a lot of time together, including sleepovers at Chitsaz's house at 20750 87th Street in Scottsdale.

About three weeks ago, the boy told his mother that "Ali sucks my wiener."

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Image: Maricopa County Sheriff's Office

Stephen Hand, 26, of Buckey, was arrested yesterday on suspicion of sexually assaulting a 19-year-old mentally disabled man.

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A Buckeye woman came home on Wednesday to a shocking sight: A man she knew was performing oral sex on her mentally disabled, 19-year-old son.

Her son is too severely disabled to speak or give consent to sexual activity, court records state. The woman called 9-1-1- after the 26-year-old suspect, Stephen Hand, who's been known to the family for 10 years, left the house.

Detectives with the Maricopa County Sheriff's office tried to interview the victim, but he couldn't give a statement. The next day, deputies listened in as the victim's sister called Hand.

He admitted to the oral contact, records state.


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MCSO

Santa came early -- Luis Ortiz admitted to molesting his girlfriend's 9-year-old daughter next to a Christmas tree a few weeks before Christmas.

​Admitted pederast Luis Mejia Ortiz was in Maricopa County Superior Court today, where he pleaded guilty to charges that he molested his girlfriend's 9-year-old daughter on several occasions.

In all, Ortiz pleaded guilty to one count of child molestation and three counts of attempted child molestation. Initially, Ortiz was charged with four counts of sexual conduct with a minor, one count of sexual abuse, one count of child molestation, and one count of public sexual indecency.

If you ask Ortiz why he molested the girl, he claims it's because he suffered a head injury.

Ortiz was arrested in December after admitting to the girl's mother -- his girlfriend -- and police that he had touched the girl's vagina on four occasions, including a December 2 incident, in which he did so next to the family's Christmas tree. He told police it "got him excited."

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Tim Lowe's Facebook page

Tim Lowe in full "juggalo" regalia.

​A racist, Arizona City "juggalo" -- who claims to be studying for a Ph.D in "scratching balls" -- was arrested yesterday after admitting to molesting a 16-year-old special needs girl.

Timothy Lowe, 22, was booked into Pinal County Jail on three counts of sexual exploitation of a minor and one count of child molestation after admitting to a sexual relationship with the girl -- and others.

According to the Pinal County Sheriff's Office, on July 1, the girl's parents called police because they suspected their daughter was exchanging nude photos with Lowe over Facebook.

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