SALT LAKE CITY, UT. (THECOUNT) — Paul D. Petersen has been suspended Monday after he was charged with running a human smuggling scheme that brought pregnant women from the Marshall Islands to the U.S. to give birth and then paid them to give up their children for adoption, according to reports.
The Utah Attorney General’s Office has charged elected Arizona official, Petersen, with 11 felony offenses, including human smuggling, sale of a child and communications fraud, according to officials.
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Officials with the Utah Attorney General’s Office said Petersen, 44, who is the elected County Assessor for Maricopa County, Arizona, and an adoption lawyer licensed in Utah and Arizona, was arrested in California Tuesday night.
Leaders in Arizona’s most populous county suspended Assessor Paul Petersen without pay for 120 days. The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors doesn’t have the power to permanently remove him from his office, which determines the value of properties for tax purposes in Phoenix and its suburbs, reports Local12 on Wednesday.
Officials alleged Petersen ran an illegal adoption scheme recruiting, transporting and paying women from the Republic of the Marshall Islands to give up their babies for adoption in the U.S.
According to the press release, Petersen is alleged to have transported over 40 pregnant Marshallese to Utah over the last three years.
“While Mr. Petersen is entitled to a presumption of innocence, our investigation uncovered evidence that he has committed horrible crimes,” said Utah Attorney General Sean D. Reyes in a press release. “Petersen’s illegal adoption scheme exploited highly vulnerable groups in two countries — the birth mothers and families in the Marshall Islands and the adoptive parents here in Utah. It is heartbreaking that these families from both countries were so cruelly manipulated, reports KSLTV.”
Petersen also faces related charges in Arizona and Arkansas, according to the press release.
A warrant for Petersen’s arrest was issued on Tuesday.
DEVELOPING::
Geo quick facts: Mesa is a city just east of Phoenix, in Arizona. Mesa Grande Cultural Park is home to a giant, centuries-old ceremonial mound, and artifacts of the ancient Hohokam people. The Arizona Museum of Natural History exhibits dinosaur skeletons and archaeological finds. The nearby i.d.e.a. Museum offers hands-on artistic and scientific exhibits for kids. Mesa Arts Center presents theater, musicals and contemporary art – wikipedia.