Mesa foster parent accused of molesting 4 of his adopted daughters
May 23, 2019, 4:04 AM
Mathew Arrington (Mesa Police Photo)
(Mesa Police Photo)
PHOENIX — A Mesa father who worked with a nonprofit to promote foster care was arrested earlier this month for molesting four of his adopted daughters.
Mathew Arrington, 55, was arrested on May 7 after his 12-year-old daughter reportedly told friends at school that her dad had molested her, according to court documents.
He was released with an ankle monitor but arrested again on May 17 after his wife contacted police and told them three more of his daughters had said he abused them, the documents stated.
Arrington was accused of inappropriately touching the adolescent girls on multiple occasions as far back as the summer of 2016.
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He was charged with three counts of sexual abuse, three counts of molestation of a child and one count of attempted sexual abuse.
Arrington made a video with Foster Arizona in 2017 to promote sibling placement, according to ABC 15.
According to the video, the Arringtons have one biological son and eight foster children, including two sets of siblings.
Foster Arizona CEO Kim Vehon released a statement to ABC 15 on Wednesday:
Foster Arizona is heartbroken learning of this story early today. The Arrington Family did participate in a video Foster Arizona produced back in 2017. Unfortunately, at that time, these egregious acts were not known to us. We take our community relationships very seriously, as we feel the community plays an important role in supporting kids in the Arizona foster care system and the safety of these kids is always our highest priority in all that we do. This is a horrific situation for this family, and our thoughts, prayers, and support are with them. We honor the courage of these young ladies to come forward and ask that the community understand the impact of trauma on their lives and respect their need for privacy to heal.
The Arizona Department of Child Services said it could not comment on the specific case but stressed that all potential foster parents must undergo a thorough vetting process.
“DCS investigates all reports of abuse and neglect and works with law enforcement agencies to ensure those who abuse and neglect children are brought to justice,” the agency said in a statement to KTAR News 92.3 FM on Wednesday.
