Top AZ county lawyer fired after dad accuses him of filming 12-year-old at store, performing sex act in car
Police have released footage showing authorities confronting a top Arizona county attorney accused of filming a 12-year-old girl at a Target store and later engaging in a sexual act in his car last month.
According to police reports, the girl’s father confronted Paul Correa, who served as Cochise County’s chief civil deputy county attorney, and caught him allegedly watching the video with “disheveled” pants, Fox 10 Phoenix reported.
Sierra Vista Police Department officers then responded to the scene, and bodycam footage shows Correa repeatedly denying the allegations.
Correa, however, was swiftly fired the day after the incident, officials announced on Dec. 18. Cochise County Attorney Lori Zucco said the decision was made after speaking with law enforcement and the victim’s family.
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“The allegations in this case are deeply disturbing, particularly for an officer of the court and public employee entrusted with the public’s confidence,” Zucco said in a statement.
“As a career prosecutor for more than 20 years, I have zero tolerance for alleged conduct that so fundamentally violates the standards of this office. While Mr. Correa is entitled to due process in the criminal justice system, he can no longer serve in any capacity in my office.”
According to the documents, surveillance video inside Target captured Correa intentionally walking past and recording two young girls during his 40-minute trip to Target, local media Herald Review reported.
A 12-year-girl later alerted her mother that she saw a man allegedly using a cellphone to record her in the cosmetics aisle.
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Shortly afterward, the girl’s father confronted Correa in the parking lot, “banging” on his car door, Correa said in the video. The father alleged that he found Correa watching the clip with his pants appearing “disheveled,” Fox 10 reported.
When questioned by police, Correa claimed he was using his phone to call his son about dinner plans and suggested the dad was “confused,” footage shows.
“He thinks he saw something. He’s confused, he’s angry,” Correa said in the video. “He thinks that I was in the store recording his daughter with my phone. That’s not true, that’s absolutely not true. I was here buying gifts for a holiday party.”
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“What would make them think that you were recording?” the officer was heard asking.
“That I had my phone out. Maybe? I don’t know. I don’t know what he thinks he saw,” Correa responded.
Police seized Correa’s work and personal phones before allowing him to leave Target, the Herald Review reported. He was arrested and fired from his job the following day.
Due to a conflict of interest, Correa was charged by the La Paz County Attorney’s Office with harassment by surveillance, public sexual indecency and tampering with physical evidence, Herald Review reported.
Correa remains in the Graham County jail on a $25,000 cash-only bond, the outlet added.
Fox News Digital reached out to Sierra Vista Police Department for more information.
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