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Border Patrol agent sentenced for sex assault

Posted at 12:49 PM, Sep 16, 2015
and last updated 2015-09-16 15:49:17-04

A former Douglas, Arizona Border Patrol agent was sentenced to 10 years in prison and lifetime probation for kidnapping and sexual conduct with a minor in Chandler.

A Maricopa County Superior Court judge rendered the verdict Monday. Cole had made a plea deal.

Jeremy Tyler Cole was arrested in March on charges involving a 5-year-old girl.

At the time of the incident, a 14-year-old girl, 12-year-old girl and 3-month-old girl were also inside the Chandler home.

The report states the reporting party saw Cole coming out of the 12-year-old's bedroom around 2 a.m. and stated he was searching for towels.

The reporting party went into the 12-year-old's bedroom, but did not see anything suspicious and then went to bed.

In the morning, the 5-year-old victim asked to speak to the reporting party and said a "bald man" matching Cole's description was inside her bedroom and touched her while she was sleeping, according to the report.

According to the report, the reporting party also asked the 14-year-old if anything had occurred and she stated she felt someone in her room and touched her face.

The report states that Cole was staying at the home of his fiance's friend in Chandler for Arizona Bike Week.

The victim's mother released the following statement to ABC15 on Wednesday:

"It's very frustrating and upsetting that he was able to take a plea offer of 10 years on a lesser charge of attempted molestation, spending just a mere 8 and a half  years in prison with good behavior. His actions were not attempted as the plea states. The evidence was conclusive that his DNA was on my daughter and her sheets. What he did to my innocent 5-year-old will affect her for the rest of her life. For the damage he has done to my daughter and our family, and also to keep him from harming other young children, he deserves a much stronger sentence."