PHOENIX — Maricopa County prosecutors are asking a judge to allow new evidence against accused serial rapist James Estep involving alleged attacks against two more victims where charges have not been filed.
Estep was indicted last August 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.
The 10-page motion was filed in court and is known as a rule 404 (C) which allows prosecutors to petition a judge to include additional evidence to show a pattern of abnormal or aberrant sexual behavior in sex crimes cases.
“And not every state does this. But Arizona is progressive in its legal system and the reason why is that these cases are extremely difficult to prosecute,” said defense attorney and former Maricopa County prosecutor Josh Kolsrud.
According to the motion, the two additional attacks happened in 2017 and 2020 and involved alleged victims who were renting a room from Estep. No charges have been filed in the cases but could be used as evidence in the ongoing criminal case against Estep, if allowed by a judge.
“If they are permitted to do this, it's going to be devastating to the defense,” said Kolsrud.
ABC15 obtained the Phoenix police reports involving these cases, which raised more questions about why Estep wasn’t stopped sooner.
Estep’s defense also recently filed its own motion to severe or separate the charges, which could force the prosecution to try each victim’s case separately.
“It's a very important motion that the judge is going to have to consider, because it's going to define what happens throughout the entire next part of the process,” said Kolsrud.
ABC15 has previously reported, Mesa police arrested Estep twice last year, 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 the second time, Tempe police arrested Estep in August of 2023 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.
It’s been a year since the criminal case against Estep began, and he is still being held in jail without bond.
Both sides are expected to present their arguments on the new motions during an evidentiary hearing scheduled for September. It will be up to a judge to decide if the new evidence is allowed or if any of the charges are severed.
ABC15 will be in the courtroom and will continue reporting on this case.
