Parents in the Washington Elementary School District are demanding answers this week after a convicted sex offender allegedly entered Orangewood Elementary School in central Phoenix, led a young girl into an empty classroom, and assaulted her.
Phoenix police say 25-year-old Abel Gblah slipped in behind a student as they entered the school, claimed to be a doctor, and then convinced a young girl to accompany him into an unused classroom. Once inside, investigators say he sexually assaulted her. The school district confirmed on Nov. 21 that the suspect is a former student, stating in a news release that Abel Gblah attended the school from 2012 to 2015.
In the days that followed, police increased their presence on and around the Orangewood campus. But for parents and staff, the deeper concern remains how someone with Gblah’s background made it onto school grounds in the first place.
Washington Elementary School District confirms that at least one staff member has been placed on administrative leave pending the results of an internal investigation. But district leaders have offered little else. Requests this week to interview school board members went mostly unanswered. Board President Kyle Clayton declined, citing the ongoing criminal investigation. Board member Bill Adams told 12News he would like to speak but also could not comment for the same reason.
Meanwhile, details uncovered about Gblah’s history reveal years of legal trouble spanning both state and federal systems — as well as repeated probation violations that never resulted in prison time.
Court records show his earliest known criminal charge dates back to 2019, when Border Patrol agents in Sierra Vista caught him transporting migrants to Phoenix for money. Federal prosecutors ultimately offered him a plea deal, reducing the charge to misprision of a felony, a lesser offense that does not trigger automatic deportation, according to legal experts. He was sentenced to five years of probation.
“If he pleads guilty to human smuggling, it’s an automatic deportation,” Valley attorney Josh Kolsrud said. “So what the U.S. Attorney’s Office does sometimes is allow a defendant to plead guilty to misprision of a felony, which is just a generic felony that does not require automatic removal from the United States.”
Despite that conviction, Gblah was never deported. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) told 12News that Gblah is a “native and citizen of Liberia,” but said they cannot take action against him until his current criminal case is resolved. A spokesperson said they are committed to “restoring accountability to our immigration system, adding that ICE will not stand idle and allow sexual predators to roam free in our communities.”
ICE declined to say how Gblah obtained legal status in the United States, whether through a green card, work visa, asylum claim, or something else, citing privacy laws.
“ICE is prohibited from disclosing any information about a person’s status in the country. It’s a privacy concern, and they guard it, just like the IRS guards tax information,” Kolsrud said.
In court documents obtained by 12News, the Maricopa County probation department wrote in a 2021 pre-sentence report that Gblah is considered a legal permanent resident who “may live and work in the U.S.” They acknowledged that he could be “amenable to removal proceedings” if he were to be convicted of a felony crime. They concluded that he was eligible for arrest on immigration violations following a 2021 state conviction for sexual misconduct with a minor.
Kolsrud notes that ICE has broad authority to detain any non-citizen with a criminal record.
“ICE always has the authority to put what’s called an immigration hold or detainer on any defendant who is not a U.S. citizen,” he said.
It is not clear why the agency did not do so in this case, despite Gblah’s history of violations. A federal felony conviction, a state felony conviction, and repeated violations of his probation.
The central question remains how a man with multiple criminal convictions, repeated probation violations, and unclear immigration status was able to walk into an elementary school unchecked and allegedly assault a child.
