PHOENIX, AZ — An employee of a facility in Phoenix that contracts with the federal government to house migrant children separated from their families at the border is accused of sexually abusing a 14-year-old girl. Southwest Key Programs worker Fernando Magaz Negrete, 32, faces charges of child molestation, sexual abuse and aggravated assault, according to court documents.
Negrete, who was arrested by Phoenix police on Tuesday, kissed the girl multiple times and fondled her breasts and genitals through her clothing, according to court records. Surveillance video included in the court records showed him approaching the room the girl shared with two others several times between 9-10:30 p.m. on June 27, but both the doorway and the bedroom are out of view of the camera.
One of the teen’s two roommates reported what had happened on July 25, according to a report by the Arizona Republic. Phoenix police Sgt. Vince Lewis told the newspaper that Negrete admitted his involvement, Jeff Eller, a spokesman for Southwest Key, said Negrete was fired after an internal investigation.
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In an initial court appearance, Negrete’s bond was set at $150,000. He is due back in court at 8:30 a.m. on Aug. 7.
RELATED: Girl, 6, Sexually Abused At Phoenix Immigrant Detention Center: Report
The Arizona Republic said that since 2015, police have taken reports of at least two other sexual abuse allegations at Southwest Key facilities in Tucson and Glendale. Those facilities are among eight in Arizona run the nonprofit.
Austin, Texas-based Southwest Key houses 1,500 migrant children in 26 facilities across Arizona, Texas and California and will be paid about $458 million by the federal government this year under the Unaccompanied Alien Children Program.
The group has come under increased scrutiny in recent years and has been cited for hundreds of violations by state regulators in Texas, according to a report by Texas Monthly. Some of the reports were fairly benign, the magazine said, but others are egregious, including one report in 2014 that an employee of a Casa Rio Grande shelter “engaged in an inappropriate relationship with a child.”
Photo via Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office