http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/story/72929

August 31, 2006 - 6:08AM
Scottsdale school rape suspect in U.S. illegally
Mike Sakal, Amanda Keim, Tribune
A custodian at Saguaro High School accused of raping a 14-year-old girl on the Scottsdale campus is an illegal immigrant from Mexico and shouldn’t have been eligible to work in the United States, an immigration official said Wednesday.

Russell Ahr, a spokesman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said the paperwork that Roberto Lemus-Retana provided to ABM Janitorial Services, the company that contracts with the Scottsdale Unified School District, is counterfeit.

Or, there is a possibility Lemus-Retana was using someone else’s name and Social Security number, Ahr said.

The school district wasn’t aware Lemus-Retana was an illegal immigrant until speaking with the Tribune on Wednesday evening, said Dave Peterson, the district’s chief financial officer.

However, the district had already discussed severing ties with ABM, Peterson said. The district is waiting for investigations to be complete before making any decisions about its relationship with the company.

Since the incident, the district has run its own background check on Lemus-Retana’s Social Security number, and asked Scottsdale police to do the same, Peterson said. But neither the district’s nor the police’s background check indicated he was in the country illegally, Peterson said.

The district had contacted ICE to look into Lemus-Retana’s immigration status, before the Tribune called, Peterson said.

Lemus-Retana had cleared a background check on the state level and had provided all the required paperwork to work at ABM, where he was hired July 31, according to Mark Safsten, vice president of safety and risk management for ABM. Safsten also said Lemus-Retana provided his past employment history.

Safsten said Wednesday he couldn’t comment on the latest development involving Lemus-Retana.

“Anyone can go into a swap market and get certified documents,â€