PHOENIX — A Maricopa County Judge ruled prosecutors can’t present new evidence at trial against accused serial rapist James Estep involving two more alleged victims where charges were never filed.
Judge Mark Brain also found some of the charges against Estep need to be split up and tried in separate trials.
Estep was indicted in August 2023 on 30 felony counts, including 20 counts of sexual assault. The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office said attacks on multiple alleged victims happened from 2018 to August of 2023 in Phoenix, Mesa, and Tempe.
Judge Brain ordered four alleged victim’s cases can be tried together which include alleged assaults from May of 2021 to August of 2023. The ruling said a fifth alleged victim’s case needs to be tried separately.
It is unclear if prosecutors plan to move with charges against the sixth alleged victim.
ABC15 has previously reported that Mesa police arrested Estep twice in 2023, but Maricopa County prosecutors declined to move forward with sexual assault charges, which allowed for his release from custody.
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A month after he was released, Tempe police arrested Estep in August of 2023 following an hours-long standoff at his Mesa home. Police say he violently sexually assaulted 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.
It’s been more than a year since the criminal case against Estep began, and he is still being held in jail without bond.
The judge tentatively set a trial date for April 2025.
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