PHOENIX — Phoenix police said it has two cases with "a sexual motivation element" where accused serial rapist James Estep is listed as a suspect.
The department did not release specific details about the incidents other than they occurred in 2017 and 2020. The agency said officers did not submit the cases for charges because the victims were no longer cooperating or declined further contact.
“Unfortunately, this is a common occurrence. Most rapes aren't prosecuted,” said Jena Panas, CEO of the Arizona Coalition to End Sexual and Domestic Violence.
ABC15 filed a public records request for the police reports in the Phoenix cases nearly a month ago but has still not received the records.
“There is no real knowing how many victims of Estep are out there, that haven't come forward, because of the system that doesn't work,” Panas said.
Estep was indicted last month on 30 felony counts, including 20 counts of sexual assault. The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office said attacks on at least six alleged victims happened from 2018 to August of 2023 in Phoenix, Mesa, and Tempe.
Estep is being held without bond after he was accused of raping a teenager last month. Mesa police arrested him twice last year, but Maricopa County prosecutors declined to move forward with sexual assault charges, which allowed for his release from custody.
A month after he was released, Tempe police arrested Estep in August following an hours-long standoff at his Mesa home. Police say he violently raped a 15-year-old girl after offering her a ride at a light rail station.
Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell has defended her office’s decision. She said prosecutors didn’t have enough evidence to move forward with charges after Estep’s two previous arrests.
The sexual assault in 2018 also happened in Phoenix, but prosecutors only filed charges in that case after Estep’s most recent arrest.
The other two Phoenix cases where Estep is listed as a suspect brings the total to eight alleged victims in six years since Estep’s recent indictment.
