Students in the JRN203 class are rushing to write breaking news tonight about Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu and recent allegations of threatening to have an ex-boyfriend deported to Mexico.
The students at Paradise Valley Community College are researching media reports about the accusations against the sheriff that started with an exclusive story posted online Thursday, Feb. 16, by Monica Alonzo with the Phoenix News Times. Ms. Alonzo reported a Mexican immigrant says he had a two-year relationship with Mr. Babeu, a Republican known nationally for his tough-0n-the-border positions. When the relationship ended, the ex-boyfriend identified only as Jose said the sheriff made threats about potential deportation unless Jose stayed silent about their time together.
Sheriff Paul Babeu, as provided by the Pinal County Sheriff's Office website
Mr. Babeu was not widely known to be gay before the Phoenix New Times story appeared, and he is currently campaigning for a congressional seat in a new, largely rural district in Arizona that tilts heavily toward Republican voters.
The sheriff held a news conference on Saturday, Feb. 18, at which he acknowledged his sexual orientation and the relationship with Jose. But Mr. Babeu strongly denied he made any threats. Instead, Mr. Babeu said he was the real victim because Jose had accessed the congressional campaign’s website and social media accounts without approval and left inappropriate comments. Jose had previously been a campaign worker who had helped to manage the website and social media.
While the Phoenix New Times said it would not disclose Jose’s full name or other identification, KTVK-TV reported on Monday night that it had his full name and a photo of the man. The Phoenix TV news station did not disclose its source for the name or the photo, which hopefully will prompt the students in JRN203 to ask if the report was ethical.
On Tuesday afternoon, Mr. Babeu announced he has asked the Gila County Attorney’s Office to conduct an independent investigation to determine if he or Jose is telling the truth, the Arizona Republic reported. However, the Associated Press reported that Attorney General Tom Horne will conduct the investigation instead.
The story has received significant national attention as well with stories in The Daily Beast and multiple posts in the Huffington Post.
Update: On Monday, Feb. 27, ABC15 television reporter David Biscobing had a story with different allegations for Babeu. ABC15 reported that Babeu previously had been headmaster for an alternative school in Massachusetts, and lived with one of the students — a 17-year-old boy. On Tuesday, Babeu’s lawyer demanded that ABC15 and other news outlets retract this story, providing a letter supposedly from the student saying he knows Babeu but never lived with him.
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