Former Goodyear Firefighter Sentenced to Prison for Sexual Abuse

A former firefighter, Nicholas Michael Cruz, has been sentenced to 35 years in prison for sexually abusing multiple underage victims over the course of several years.

According to the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office, in June 2024, one of the victims disclosed to her mother that the defendant had molested her since she was approximately 8 years old. The mother reported the abuse to the Goodyear Police Department. Over the course of their investigation, police discovered that between 2012 and 2024, Cruz sexually abused five girls at several residences in Goodyear. At the time of reporting, the victims ranged between 7 to 16 years old. One of the victims reported that Cruz abused her multiple times a week when she was 6 years old and continued until she was 16.

Police also found evidence of the abuse in Cruz’s electronic devices which contained hundreds of inappropriate images of the victims. Child sexual abuse material from other unknown sources was also found in the devices.

After being confronted by one of the victim’s mothers, the defendant fled to California. Goodyear Police tracked him down to Palm Springs and he was extradited to Arizona.

Cruz pleaded guilty to the following charges:

• one count of Sexual Conduct with a Minor, a Class Two Felony and Dangerous Crime Against Children
• one count of Molestation of a Child, a Class Two Felony and Dangerous Crime Against Children
• one count of Attempted Molestation of a Child, a Class Three Felony and Dangerous Crime Against Children
• one count of Sexual Abuse, a Class Three Felony and Dangerous Crime Against Children
• one count of Attempted Sexual Exploitation of a Minor, a Class Three Felony and Dangerous Crime Against Children

“This defendant caused irreparable harm to five young girls,” said County Attorney Rachel Mitchell. “Thanks to the diligent work of the Goodyear Police Department and sex crimes prosecutor William Heydenreich, he was found and brought to justice in Maricopa County. He will now spend decades in prison for his crimes.”