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PCSO deputy indicted on sex abuse charges, fired

Posted at 10:44 AM, Mar 04, 2016
and last updated 2016-03-04 20:53:18-05

A Pinal County deputy was is losing his job amid allegations he engage in sex acts with a 15-year-old boy a decade ago.

Sheriff Paul Babeu announced the firing of Scott Strobel, who served 14 years with the department, in a Friday morning press release. Strobel was served termination papers on Thursday.

Strobel is accused of having inappropriate contact with a teen boy in 2004 and 2005.

On March 2, he was indicted on four counts of sexual conduct with a minor and one count of child luring, according to Pinal County Sheriff's Office.  Strobel had "no comment" when reached by phone, but he did direct ABC15 to his lawyer.

Defense attorney Matthew Long says his client is innocent until proven guilty, and he pointed out Strobel was not immediately arrested on the indictment.

"We are anxious to confront the evidence, look at the evidence objectively, apply our own investigation," Long said.

PCSO said it first learned of the allegations against Strobel in November 2015. At that time, the 47-year-old deputy was a School Resource Officer at Poston Butte High School.

PCSO spokesman Mark Clark said the allegations against Strobel are not connected to his role as an SRO and the victim was not a student of his. Although, Strobel and the victim knew each other.

The officer was placed on "administrative reassignment" and a criminal investigation was ordered. During the investigation, he had no contact with the public in his job.

"It is disturbing to hear these allegations, but the results of our investigation and the grand jury indictment, show that nobody is above the law and we are prepared to hold any offender accountable for their criminal acts," said Sheriff Babeu.

Clark said they believe the 15-year-old boy is the only victim.