Migrant Center Worker Guilty of Sexually Abusing Seven Minors

A former Southwest Key employee was convicted of sexually molesting seven undocumented migrant boys at a detention center in Arizona in the United States Tuesday.

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The court found Levian Pacheco guilty on seven counts of abusive sexual contact to a ward and three additional counts of abuse to another charge while they awaited the results of their immigration cases. His sentencing is scheduled for December 3.

Reports show that over the course of an 11-month period, the employee had propositioned at least seven boys in his care, with victims ranging from 15 to 17 years old.

"The allegations include that the defendant touched six of the victims on their genitalia over their clothing, and that he performed oral sex on two of the victims," the case file said.

"The age of these individuals, their separation from parents and relatives, and the hazardous journey they take make unaccompanied alien children especially vulnerable to human trafficking, exploitation, and abuse," the affidavit said.

The nonprofit corporation, Southwest Key, is tied to a multi-million contract with the federal Unaccompanied Alien Children Program and has locations in Arizona, California, and Texas, hosting 1,500 migrant children.

Southwest Key spokesman Jeff Eller said: "We are grieved that abuse occurred in one of our shelters and, with the victims, take comfort in justice having been served. As an organization, we believe in transparency."

A statement from the U.S. Department of Health and human Services said: "These are vulnerable children in difficult circumstances, and the Office of Refugee Resettlement at HHS' Administration for Children and Families treats our responsibility for each child with the utmost care.

"Any allegation of abuse or neglect is taken seriously, investigated by the Office of Refugee Resettlement, and appropriate action is taken."

Though this is the most recent child molestation brought to court, it is not the first for the nonprofit detainment corporation. The Arizona Republic reports a number of other sexual abuse and harassment cases reported at two other locations in Arizona.

In August another case of sexual abuse against a minor was reported from the Southwest Key facility in Phoenix. The suspect, Fernando Magaz Negrete, 32, pleaded not guilty to charges of abuse towards a 14-year-old girl at the center.

While in Tucson, another employee was convicted of class 5 sexual abuse after inappropriately touching a 15-year-old boy and trying to remove his clothing in 2015.