PHOENIX — A second victim came forward after friends and neighbors started a letter-writing campaign to show support for an accused child molester.
Last year, we reported on Adrian Barrera-Contreras, who was hired to be a dance instructor at a birthday party.
On March 11, 2017, a teenage boy was at the party at a dance hall near Interstate 17 and Northern Avenue when he and Contreras, a family friend, left to get dry ice.
Police say Contreras molested the boy while parked in the car outside the store.
The boy ran away and walked the nearly six miles back to the dance studio. Police say he was afraid Contreras would find him, so he took a different route to get back.
Conteras was soon arrested by police.
In the days following his arrest, people in the neighborhood began a campaign to show support for Contreras.
One mother tried several times to get her son to write a letter in favor of Contreras, but he said he wouldn’t write it because he too was a victim, according to police.
He reportedly told his mother about a couple incidents where Contreras molested him.
One time was after a birthday party when Contreras let him drive to a restaurant in El Mirage. While in the parking lot, Contreras allegedly molested him.
Contreras accepted a plea agreement where he pleaded guilty to attempted child molestation and attempted sexual conduct with a minor.
He began his 10-year sentence last December.
