Stepdad Faces 21 Abuse Charges Because Teen Told School Counselor

PHOENIX, AZ — Over a four-year span, a 38-year-old Phoenix man beat his three stepchildren with belts, cookery and wire, burned their hands and feet with cigarette lighters, and used tweezers on and twisted their genitals, according to court documents.

Phoenix police said Rafael Oliver-Mendoza was arrested May 31 and charged with 21 counts of child abuse for inflicting four years of “chronic” abuse and torture on three of his stepchildren, ages 14, 12 and 10. The children were “told not to tell and were scared” of harsh consequences if they did, according to a recently unsealed police report.

But the 14-year-old did tell someone, which is what kids who are being abused are advised by the experts to do. She confided to her high school counselor what their stepfather allegedly had been doing to her and her siblings, triggering an Arizona Department of Child Safety investigation.

The three children at the center of the investigation have been removed from the home, but three others — two 16-year-olds and another 14-year-old — were unavailable for interviews and remain in the home, according to the police report. (Get Phoenix Patch's real-time news alerts and free morning news letters. Like us on Facebook. Also, download the free Patch iPhone app or free Patch Android app.)

The teen’s story to investigators details years of torture abuse. She told of the time her stepfather allegedly put her 10-year-old’s head in a plastic bag and held it close until the boy passed out. Another time, according to the police report, Mendoza jammed toothpicks under the boy’s fingernails as punishment and, later, put a staple in his hand because he fell asleep. The teen told investigators she and her children were forced to line up for beatings with the belt and walk in a circle while he whipped them with wire.

Read the police arrest report below:

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