Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
ABC15 news reported on reactions to their investigative report from Arizona's elected officials on Tuesday night. Gov. Jan Brewer, other leaders sound off on ABC15 investigation into Sheriff Paul Babeu's past:
Governor Jan Brewer and other political leaders continue to react to an ABC15 investigation that found Sheriff Paul Babeu was Headmaster at a boarding school with a long history of abuse.
Multiple former students and Babeu’s own sister also told ABC15 that Babeu had a relationship with a 17-year-old male student.
Brewer said that after she read our report Monday night, she "certainly was disappointed.”
“It was a pretty brutal blow if it is true,” Brewer said. "I certainly think that publicly it has done some serious damage to his campaign."
Pinal County Supervisor Pete Rios also responded to our investigation. He renewed his call for Babeu to resign.
“I asked for his resignation even before this story broke,” Rios said in an email to ABC15. “But I had no evidence like your channel got.”
On Monday, State Sen. Ron Gould also called for Babeu to drop out of his congressional race and resign as sheriff.
Babeu has turned down ABC15’s repeated interview requests.
However, his attorneys released a statement that said, “Sheriff Babeu never had a sexual relationship with a student. A student has never lived with Sheriff Babeu either.”
Our investigation comes as Babeu deals with another controversy that involves his former Mexican boyfriend who claims the sheriff threatened to deport him.
Last week, polls showed Babeu’s campaign has lost support.
According to Yellow Sheet polls:
On January 18, Babeu had a double digit lead in the race against Ron Gould and Paul Gosar with 29 percent.
On February 20, Babeu fell to 25 percent and Gosar has climbed ahead with 30 percent.
Sheriff Babeu will not appear at an upcoming event in Oklahoma. Every year, the Tulsa Police honor officers for acts of heroism. It is called the Hero's Banquet.
Sheriff Babeu was asked to be a presenter at this year's event. But, a spokesperson for the Tulsa Police Department told us there has been a change in plans.
"We were notified of a potential scandal involving the sheriff, and this is about our officers…we didn't want to do anything that would detract from the focus on our officers."
The ABC15 investigation into Sheriff Paul Babeu's tenure at an unlicensed boarding school has taken a new turn. New response from student who denies relationship with Babeu:
A 17-year-old student who denied having an inappropriate relationship with Babeu has changed his original response to our story.
The ABC15 Investigators talked to former students across the country who described stories of physical and sexual abuse.
Eight former students -- including two who spoke with us on camera -- say Babeu had a relationship with a 17-year-old at the school.
Babeu denies the allegations of an inappropriate relationship and so does the 17-year-old student. ABC15 has decided not to identify the student.
On Monday, we received one letter, denying the allegations, signed by the student.
Then, on Tuesday, we received a second letter from a new attorney representing the student.
The second response differs from the first and the meaning of those new words could be significant.
The student's first letter states, "I have never at any time lived or engaged in any inappropriate sexual relationship with Paul Babeu."
The student's second letter received Tuesday morning places a time frame on the denial.
It states, "I never lived with or engaged in any sexual relationship with Paul Babeu while I was a student at DeSisto private school."
Another difference in the letters is the line, "I have remained personal friends with Paul Babeu."
It's included in the first letter sent to the ABC15 Investigators, but missing from the second one.
Neither letter was notarized and ABC15 cannot verify the authenticity of either signed letter.
The student has not responded to our requests for an interview, and Sheriff Babeu continues to refuse an on-camera interview.
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