A man police called a child predator will spend more than four decades in prison for kidnapping a teenage girl from Kansas and bringing her to a Chandler hotel last year, prosecutors announced Monday.
The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office announced that Christian Leonardo Caal-Mucu was sentenced to 43.5 years in prison.
The victim told investigators she met Caal-Mucu through his sister, whom she babysat in Kansas, and they began “dating” when she was 13, according to authorities.
About five weeks before being discovered in the Valley, she requested Caal-Mucu for assistance in fleeing her home. He took her to Arizona, where he had started a new job.
On July 31, Chandler police received a call from the Finney County Sheriff’s Office informing them that the 14-year-old was in the city because the victim’s cellphone had pinged in Chandler.
Police confirmed with hotel personnel that Caal-Mucu had reserved a room there.
Within two hours, officers located the girl in a hotel between Cooper Road and Loop 202 San Tan Motorway.
Bodycam footage showed officers walking inside a warehouse and handcuffing Caal-Mucu.
A jury found him guilty of two charges of sexual misconduct with a juvenile and custodial interference.
“There is no excuse for an adult to date a middle schooler. Regardless of whether the girl wanted to leave her home, this defendant took advantage of her vulnerability and had no right to take her from her parents, bring her across state lines, and have sex with her,” said Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell. “I’m thankful for Chandler Police for safely rescuing her, and the prosecutors who put this child predator away in prison for a long time.”
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