A Sierra Vista man stood before a judge Thursday facing the prospect of a 10-year prison sentence after he used methamphetamine and possessed sexually stimulating images during the first week of a five-year term of probation for luring a minor for sexual exploitation.
Instead, Aaron Michael Garner was reinstated to probation as long as he takes part in a substance abuse and mental health treatment program set to begin later this month in Maricopa County. Until then he must remain in the Cochise County jail under order of Judge Laura Cardinal of the Cochise County Superior Court.
“I am glad to see you are willing to make this commitment,” Cardinal told Garner during the Oct. 1 hearing. “You are worth caring about. I want to give you this second chance.”
Garner was one of nine men arrested in February 2019 by a multi-agency taskforce that sought to identify adults using the internet and social media apps to sexually exploit young kids. He was taken into custody outside a Sierra Vista business where he expected to meet a 14-year-old boy with whom he had exchanged graphic messages about having sex.
But “the boy” with whom Garner had been communicating was a specially trained law enforcement officer.
Garner, 35, pleaded no contest to a Class 3 felony designated as a dangerous crime against children. He faced a state prison term of 5 to 15 years when sentenced July 1 but Cardinal agreed with a probation department recommendation of supervised sex offender probation for five years.
Then just two weeks later Cardinal received a petition from Garner’s probation officer seeking to revoke the probation term. The petition detailed five alleged probation violations, including Garner’s use of meth, changing residences without approval, accessing sexually oriented materials, and having active social media apps for the dating sites Grindr and Adam4Adam on his phone.
Cardinal ordered a bench warrant which led to Garner’s arrest on July 30 and on Aug. 27 Garner admitted to the meth and social media violations. Those violations occurred July 7 and July 8, the first week of probation.
Such violations at the beginning of probation are often met with a stern warning from the judge and a start over on probation. However, the probation department recommended a 10-year prison term for Garner’s original February 2019 offense unless he could be accepted into a long-term intensive therapeutic residential treatment program to address his drug use and mental health issues.
“The defendant otherwise presents as a risk to the community, and a term of incarceration is warranted to protect any potential victims should he remain in the community as an untreated sex offender with untreated substance abuse and mental health issues,” Deborah Syphurs, a probation officer, noted in a memo to the judge.
The Cochise County Attorney’s Office previously confirmed Garner would not be prosecuted for his recent use of meth. And the sexually explicit images found on Garner’s phone and his social media accounts involved adult men, not children, something the prosecutor acknowledged during the Oct. 1 hearing.
“Certainly the state is not as concerned at this juncture” the prosecutor noted, but added that Garner “really needs to make this work.”
Garner told the judge he is committed to the treatment plan and looks forward to ending his substance abuse. He was then reinstated to probation which he will serve in jail until transferred directly to the treatment facility.
During the hearing Cardinal also recognized the efforts of Brad Thayer, a public health social worker for Cochise County. Thayer, the judge noted, spent a lot of time searching for an appropriate treatment facility to address Garner’s needs and his sex offender status.
The only one Thayer found with availability is located in Maricopa County. As a result, Garner will eventually come under the supervision of a Maricopa County probation officer. He is also required to register throughout his life as a sex offender.