Jose Alfredo Rivera of Glendale and Bruce Allan Branscom of Mesa likely don't know each other, but they've got something in common:
Both were arrested on New Year's Day for allegedly molesting 12-year-old girls.
The situations are separate, but also shockingly similar. The suspects knew the victims in both cases.
Branscom's a 28-year-old Internet designer who's accused of touching the breasts and vagina of a 12-year-old girl over several weeks, court records show. She's 13 now.
Police arrested him after hearing from the girl and her mother -- he lawyered up right away.
Rivera, 50, on the other hand, admitted his crimes to police. He didn't
have much choice since he'd recorded two of the sexual offenses on
video. His 30-year-old son found an SD card in his bathroom containing
the recordings and turned them over to police. In one video, the
suspect reportedly can be seen having intercourse with the girl.
But Rivera has a defense:
His victim began forcing him to perform sex acts since she was 9, he told police.
"Jose said that he made the videos of them having sexual contact to show
that (she) was forcing him to do these acts," records state.
Both men are being held in the Maricopa County jail on charges of sexual
conduct with a minor. Police also seek a charge of sexual abuse for
Branscom and sexual exploitation for Rivera.
