A police report from the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office in Arizona states that a Planned Parenthood counselor intentionally miscoded a sexual assault as a consensual encounter because it would be a “hassle” to report it to the police, despite the state law requirement that suspected sexual abuse be reported to police.
The case under examination involves Tyler Kost, 18, of San Tan Valley, AZ, an alleged sexual predator charged with sexually assaulting 11 girls in the period between October 2009 and April 2014. The girls ranged in age from 12 to 17. Police believe the assaults were not limited to the 11 girls; they assert that he assaulted at least 18 students from Poston Butte High School. Last December, the mother of one 15-year-old girl who allegedly became pregnant as a result of the assault by Kost told the Planned Parenthood Arizona staffer about the incident.
The Pinal County Sheriff’s Office report states, “The counselor intentionally miscoded the assault as a consensual encounter. The counselor told them that they did not want the hassle of having to report the assault to law enforcement as they were a mandatory reporter.”
Planned Parenthood Arizona said they discovered their employee’s alleged miscoding from the press, and they immediately informed authorities. The organization said the “puzzling” allegations are the subject of talks with the police, and if true, would be a “serious violation” of their policies. “Patient health and safety is our top priority, and Planned Parenthood Arizona takes its role as a mandatory reporter of criminal activity very seriously, including screening for potential abuse, charting answers, and responding to indications of criminal behavior,” the statement said.
FoxNews.com heard from Laura Oxley, a spokeswoman for the Arizona Department of Health Services, who said her office had no record of a report from the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office that the Planned Parenthood employee had violated state law. She said, “There are no complaints on file.”
Speaking to FoxNews.com, Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu called Kost an “aggressive predator.” Babeu said Kost’s habit was to build friendships with his victims before he attacked in various places, including his bedroom, parked cars, or a hidden area. Babeu commented, “This is a very devious individual, to be this calculating and literally have no boundaries of conduct or behavior. It’s extremely concerning, the size and scope of this investigation. We do expect other charges to be filed; we literally compare it to an iceberg.”
Babeu said Kost would not stop even when the girls pleaded with him. He said:
This is not just kids having sex. It’s very clear a lot of these females repeatedly said, ‘no, no, no,’ and physically resisted him as he removed their clothing. And it wouldn’t just end there, he would threaten them, blackmail them and threaten to ruin their reputation by making their lives a living hell.
Adding that he was “clearly troubled” by the Planned Parenthood allegations, he said, “If this is true, they should absolutely be held accountable.”
According to Babeu, two girls left Arizona as a result of the assaults, and one became so distraught that she no longer eats. The police report states, “As a result of what Tyler did, she moved to Texas, she no longer eats, she has thoughts of suicide, and self harms herself by cutting her arms. She hopes that Tyler spends the rest of his life behind bars, so that he can no longer hurt anyone else like he did to her.” Concerning one victim, the report records, “She was afraid of Tyler because he had an aggressive side and had told her that, if a girl were to strike him, he would strike her back. She would then lie still and not resist him.”
Kost remains jailed without bail and faces more than 300 years in prison if convicted of all charges. Pinal County Attorney Lando Voyles will try Kost as an adult.
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