A San Tan Valley man has been sentenced to five consecutive life sentences for molesting and sexually abusing a young girl, according to authorities.

A retired Mesa police sergeant has pleaded not guilty to charges of child molestation and sexual exploitation of a minor.

A retired Mesa police sergeant has pleaded not guilty to charges of child molestation and sexual exploitation of a minor.

“Hey, Mesa! How about not ripping up Broadway until you’re finished with Southern? But no, that would make sense!”

Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona said Friday that some of the more than 2,000 illegal immigrants recently released by the Homeland Security Department because of budget cuts may have been convicted of serious crimes, citing "local sources."

Setting bold new standards for digital searches, a federal appeals court ruled Friday that customs agents need "reasonable suspicion'' a crime has occurred before delving into the hidden files on someone's computer.

SALT LAKE CITY — A suspended University of Utah swim coach sexually abused a teenage girl years ago in Arizona and urged her to keep quiet about it, saying, "People will think I'm Chester the Molester," according to a police report obtained Tuesday by The Associated Press.

A report examining more than 400 sex-crime cases that were inadequately investigated or not looked into at all by the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office attributes the failures to understaffing and mismanagement, including hundreds of pieces of evidence intended for storage that were instead left in offices or taken home by detectives.

VATICAN CITY — Benedict XVI always cast himself as the reluctant pope, a shy bookworm who preferred solitary walks in the Alps to the public glare and the majesty of Vatican pageantry. And on Monday, the Vatican announced that the leader of the world's billion Roman Catholics was stepping down — the first pontiff to do so since 1415.

“Ben Arredondo violated the public trust to enhance his personal wealth and image in excess of the legal and moral limits. There are few lower than him in society, maybe only child molesters. Now his buddies, Democrats, act like he is a persecuted choir boy.”

A Tempe middle school worker was arrested Friday night for sexual misconduct with students.

Arizona parents may soon no longer have to worry about a child coming home from a carnival with a live goldfish in a bag.

In what’s been an otherwise tremendous year for movies, 2012 still brought us quite a few stinkers nevertheless.

In the Dec. 14 Letters to the Editor, Sal Gomez stated, “majority rules is the basic tenet of our government and the Constitution” (“Basic tenet of our government,” AFN). It appears Mr. Gomez needs a history lesson, even more so than his fifth-grade son. Our Founding Fathers set up our Constitution for a republic, borrowing from the experience of the Romans. Not everything would be under mob rule (democracy) and voting was allowed so that government would be subject to strict rules. That’s what our Constitution is, a restraint on government, and that is why those in power for the past 100 years or so have ignored the Constitution… it rains on their parade.

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio won again.

A Mesa couple claimed to be licensed counselors helping families in need, now they stand accused of bilking taxpayers.

Ahwatukee Foothills resident Lisa Campbell is not your average Michael Jackson fan girl.

PHOENIX — The self-proclaimed toughest sheriff in America breezed past two challengers to win a sixth term as Maricopa County sheriff after facing his most bruising political challenge.

Voters will decide Tuesday whether to give the self-proclaimed toughest sheriff in America a sixth term as he faces his most serious political challenge.

Editor's Note: These letters to the editor have been sorted by topic by the Tribune editorial staff in an effort to allow readers to read varied opinions on the issues, candidates, and other circumstances surrounding the 2012 general election. These submissions are the opinions of the author, not the Tribune, and have not been edited for grammar or content.

There are more than 14,500 people listed on Arizona's registry of sex offenders, and a tool released by the state can help keep you up-to-date on their whereabouts.