Arizona laws that distance sex offenders from schools didn't stop a felon just out of prison from walking into a Phoenix elementary school and posing as a doctor to allegedly rape a 10-year-old girl.
Abel Kai Gbla, 25, is charged with sexual assault and kidnapping after he showed up at Orangewood Elementary School around noon and pretended to be a doctor to lure a student into an empty classroom and assault her on Nov. 19, according to the Phoenix Police Department (PPD).
Prison officials released Gbluh just two weeks ago, Fox 10 reported. According to the Phoenix affiliate, Gbla was also involved in the alleged smuggling of people across the border into the United States.
Prosecutors said Gbla was convicted twice in 2021 of child sex crimes. Gble Offered Plea Deal, Channel 7 Phoenix reported. He pleaded guilty to having sex with a minor, but charges of child sex trafficking and luring a minor were dropped.
According to court documents reviewed by local news outlets, Gbla entered the school and allegedly told the student that he was a doctor and needed to “run tests on her” in an empty classroom. Once there, he allegedly pulled down the girl's pants and sexually assaulted her.
When the girl demanded he stop and pushed him away, he reportedly ran away.
“I don't think this was just a lucky crime,” said Phoenix police Sgt. Rob Scherer told Channel 7: “It's one of those pre-planned events and he decided, 'This is what I'm going to do. Here's how I'm going to do it. That's what I'm going to do to do what he wanted to do.”
Gbla was obviously very familiar with the elementary school.
Fox News Digital reported that the suspect was a former student there who attended the school as a child from 2012 to 2015.
Arizona law prohibits certain registered sex offenders from living within 1,000 feet of a school.
Police were able to quickly locate and arrest Gbluh at his home two miles away after reviewing CCTV footage.
The suspect reportedly entered the school through the lobby following a tardy student who entered through locked doors by an employee who has since been placed on administrative leave, according to local reports.
The school's principal said the school was reviewing “every aspect” of its safety measures following the incident.
A Phoenix judge set bail at $500,000 cash only, and Gbla's preliminary hearing is scheduled for Dec. 1.
Co-author Lowell Coffiel is a New York Times bestselling author. House of Secrets and nine other crime and non-fiction novels. See lowellcauffiel.com for more.
