School Safety and Crime

Phoenix police say registered sex offender Abel Kai Gblah, 25, entered Orangewood Elementary School on Nov. 19 through an unlocked lobby door, posed as a doctor and lured a grade‑school girl into a classroom where he sexually assaulted her before fleeing; he was later arrested and charged with sexual assault and kidnapping. The Washington Elementary School District said the campus was locked down for over an hour, a staff member was placed on administrative leave after an internal review, and Gblah — released from prison two weeks earlier — is being held on a $500,000 cash‑only bond with a Dec. 1 preliminary hearing.