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SUN CITY, AZ (AZFamily) — A former West Valley firefighter will spend more than three decades in prison for sexually abusing five girls in different homes, the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office said Monday.
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Nicholas Michael Cruz, 42, was sentenced to 35 years for his crimes, which included sexual conduct with a child and child molestation. The punishment was part of a plea deal.
In June 2024, one of the victims told her mother that Cruz had molested her since she was about 8 years old. The mother then told the Goodyear Police Department.
Detectives discovered that between 2012 and 2024, Cruz had abused five girls at several homes in Goodyear. The victims were between 7 and 16 years old.
One victim said that Cruz abused her multiple times per week when she was 6 years old and continued until she was 16.
Police also found hundreds of inappropriate images of the victims and other child sexual abuse material on his electronic devices.
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After being confronted, Cruz took off to California. Goodyear tracked him to Palm Springs, and he was extradited to Arizona.
Cruz worked for the Sun City Fire and Medical Department, but officials could not say when.
“This defendant caused irreparable harm to five young girls,” Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell said in an emailed statement. “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.”
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