Chino Valley man arrested for child sexual abuse

CHINO VALLEY, Arizona – A Chino Valley man was arrested after allegedly having sexual contact with a 14-year-old girl, according to Chino Valley police.

Police received a tip from the Arizona Department of Child Safety on Friday, July 12, after the department received a call from a church camp in the area. Camp staff told officers a 14-year-old girl reported that a family friend had had sexual contact with them, police said.

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The next day, police took the victim to the Yavapai Family Advocate Center for questioning, where she told officers about several alleged incidents in which the suspect had sexually abused her, police said.

Investigators managed to establish sufficient suspicion and arrested 46-year-old Michael Andrew for sexual abuse of minors, sexual harassment of a child, voyeurism and sexual indecency in public.

Andrew was reportedly the “best friend from college” of one of the girl’s parents and the children called him “uncle,” according to a probable cause statement. The girl was also friends with Andrew’s children and often stayed overnight with them.

Court documents show that Andrew admitted his involvement in the case after the victim prompted police to call him and tell him to stop while officers were listening in.

Andrew was not affiliated with the church camp but is a gymnastics teacher, police said, and they believe there may be more victims. He remains in jail without bail.

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