43-year sentence for man who had sex with 14-year-old girl in Chandler

A man who had sex with a 14-year-old girl in Chandler has been sentenced to 43.5 years in prison, authorities announced on Monday.

Cristian Caal-Mucu met the victim through his sister, whom she babysat for in Kansas. Caal-Mucu began dating the minor when she was 13 and helped her run away from home (Kansas) to Arizona, where he had started a new job. He then had sex with her in a hotel.

Caal-Mucu was convicted of two counts of sexual misconduct with a minor, which is a class two felony and classified as a dangerous crime against children, and custodial interference, which is a class three felony, according to the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office.

“There is no excuse for an adult to date a middle schooler. Regardless of whether the girl wanted to leave her home, this defendant took advantage of her vulnerability and had no right to take her from her parents, bring her across state lines, and have sex with her,” Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell said in a statement. “I’m thankful for Chandler Police for safely rescuing her, and the prosecutors who put this child predator away in prison for a long time.”

What led to Caal-Mucu’s arrest in 2025?

Chandler police said the Finney County Sheriff’s Department in Kansas called them on July 31, 2025, after receiving information that the teen was in Arizona.

The girl had been missing since July 20, and deputies in Kansas had tracked her cell phone to a hotel near Cooper Road and the Loop 202 San Tan in Chandler.

The Chandler Police Department’s Human Exploitation and Trafficking (HEAT) Unit was able to locate the teen within two hours at the hotel and found the suspect minutes later working nearby.

Officers from the department’s Criminal Apprehension and Street Crimes Units took the suspect into custody.

KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Jeff Vinton contributed to this report.

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