The Peoria Police Department (Arizona), in collaboration with the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office, has made an arrest in connection with a 2009 kidnapping and sexual assault of a child. The suspect, Steven Paul Lipton, a 43-year-old male, was taken into custody on July 31, 2025, following a recent DNA match.
This investigation began back in January 2009, when an 8-year-old girl reported being approached by a man while walking home from a nearby elementary school. The suspect, posing as a police officer and claiming to be a friend of her mother, convinced the child to get into his vehicle. He then drove her to a nearby neighborhood where he committed heinous acts on her and released her.
At the time, a sexual assault kit was collected and tested, which came back with negative results. The case went cold until DNA obtained at the time of the crime was sent for further testing using grant money from the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (SAKI).
In July 2025, the Department of Public Safety (DPS) Laboratory received a CODIS hit identifying the suspect.
“SAKI funds have been critical in pursuing justice for victims of cold case sex assaults,” said Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell.
Peoria Police detectives coordinated with the suspect’s adult probation officer and arranged for the arrest to take place at the probation office in Cottonwood. The suspect was taken into custody without incident.
Given the nature of this case, detectives believe there may be additional victims or similar incidents that were never fully investigated or tested for DNA at the time. The Peoria Police Department is urging anyone who may have information or believe they may have been victimized in a similar manner, to come forward.
Anyone with information related to this case is asked to contact the Peoria Police Department Tip Line at 623-773-7045 or call Detective Stehli at 623-773-8713.
Republished courtesy of Peoria Police Department