Peoria Unified School District (PUSD) parents and community members urged greater action from their district during last week’s board meeting after the arrest of a prominent basketball coach for child sex abuse.
The coach, 37-year-old Patrick Battillo, known by his superfan alias, “Mr. ORNG,” was arrested last week for soliciting minors for sexual content. The school where Battillo coached, Peoria High School, had run a background check on him prior to his coming on board.
Parental concerns have been on the rise due to the constant news of other educators arrested for child sex abuse outside the district over the past year, as well as the steady stream of Arizona State Board of Education cases involving sexual misconduct.
Last month, 53-year-old Estevan Carreon with Glendale Union High School District’s Independence High School, was arrested after secretly recording students while they undressed. Over the course of seven months, three female educators in various Buckeye schools were arrested for inappropriate contact with minors: 23-year-old Alyssa Todd, 42-year-old Jessica Kramer, and 24-year-old Diana Pirvu.
In January, 35-year-old Daniel Pineda with Dream City Christian School in Glendale was arrested for allegedly sexually abusing a student.
Last week’s extensive community participation with PUSD was due in part to a call to action by SMART Schools, a subsidiary of the conservative activist group Arizona Women of Action. In a press release, the organization urged involvement to increase student safety.
Tamra Farah, SMART Families Network Director, urged the board to find ways to heighten collective vigilance to safeguard the students. Farah reminded the board that another educator, Erin Quigley, had agreed to the suspension of his teaching certification amid allegations of grooming and possibly sexually abusing students.
Rachel Barnett — Littleton Elementary School District board member, Arizona School Board Association (ASBA) Black Alliance Officer, secretary of the NAACP, and former PUSD employee and mother — said that she wasn’t at all surprised by child sex abuse cases coming out of PUSD due to its standard for handling reporting of such cases.
Barnett said that a female senior student at Peoria High School urged her to speak at last week’s meeting. She said that PUSD had a “startling history of covering up abuse,” citing a practice of barring teachers who contact the Department of Child Services (DCS) and law enforcement from testifying in court, let alone admitting they were the ones who reported the abuse to DCS.
“It troubles me to say that I am not at all surprised to hear what’s presently unfolding in this district,” said Barnett.
Barnett further alleged that administrators weren’t notifying parents of the sexual abuse cases. PUSD Board President Becky Proudfit directed several members of the board to follow up with Barnett.
Dr. Tara Armstead, former member of the Arizona Department of Education’s African American Advisory Council and former Litchfield Elementary School District board member, said that background checks weren’t enough to catch predators. Armstead encouraged the board to listen more to the students.
Seak Smith — founder and president of The Mom Army, a child advocacy organization — urged the district to recognize the child sex abuse incidents as part of a greater pandemic.
“We need to understand that predators and pedophiles go where they can have access to children, and we have to do better to safeguard children and protect them from predators,” said Smith.
Mark Del Maestro, a Vietnam War veteran, said that pedophiles like those arrested recently were “Satan’s marionettes.” Del Maestro compared the rising rates of child sex abuse to the rampant molestation in war-torn Vietnam.
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Scottsdale parents and community members were approved to donate pro-American books to district schools.
The Scottsdale Unified School DIstrict (SUSD) governing board approved the books unanimously during Wednesday’s meeting. The selections will be part of a new “American Pride Library” program spread across SUSD’s 29 libraries. Grassroots activists who have been pushing for a cleanup of school curriculum celebrated the win.
Scottsdale United for Educational Integrity, the parent group leading the initiative, announced the win shortly after the board’s approval.
“We did it! Our American Pride Library donation of pro-American books has been approved 5-0 by the Scottsdale Unified governing board,” stated the group.
— Arizona Women of Action (@azwomenofaction) April 10, 2024
Among the approved books donated were selections from the popular Tuttle Twins franchise, and “A is for American Dream” by the Phoenix-based libertarian think tank, The Goldwater Institute.
In addition to the Goldwater Institute picture book, SUSD elementary schools will receive the two “America’s History” volumes from the Tuttle Twins franchise, as well as the following “Tuttle Twins” series: “Law,” “The Miraculous Pencil,” “The Creature from Jekyll Island,” “The Food Truck Fiasco,” “The Road to Serfdom,” “The Golden Rule,” “The Search for Atlas,” “Their Spectacular Show Business,” “The Fate of the Future,” “The Education Vacation,” “The Messed Up Market,” “The Leviathan Crisis,” and “The 12 Rules Bootcamp.”
Middle schools will receive both volumes of “America’s History,” as well as the following Tuttle Twins’ “Guide” series: “Logical Fallacies,” “Beware Your Bias,” “Inspiring Entrepreneurs,” “Modern Villains,” “True Conspiracies,” and “Courageous Heroes.”
High schools will receive both volumes of “America’s History,” as well as the following Tuttle Twins’ series: “The Hyperinflation Devastation,” “The Little Pink House,” “The Case of the Broken Window,” “The Play for Power,” “Guide to Logical Fallacies,” “Guide to Beware Your Bias,” “Guide to Inspiring Entrepreneurs,” “Guide to Modern Villains,” “Guide to True Conspiracies,” and “Guide to Courageous Heroes.”
The books were part of a pushback against the objected books available containing a variety of progressive, often explicit content addressing subjects like LGBTQ+ ideology and Critical Race Theory. These activist groups maintain a list of these objected books, which they characterize as “adult only.”
The Tuttle Twins company’s Education Outreach Coordinator, Andrea Ford, expressed support for the Scottsdale grassroots’ mission to improve SUSD’s library selections.
“We appreciate the hard work and dedication of the teachers in SUSD and are excited to support them in building a freer society by providing materials to enhance critical thinking skills, knowledge of free market economy and entrepreneurship, and increasing proficiency in the history of our country,” said Ford. “Our goal at Tuttle Twins is to distribute our books to all schools in the nation and assist in bringing a new culture of liberty for our rising generation.”
“Conservative Circus” radio host James T. Harris also praised the grassroots for taking initiative in improving their schools’ libraries with “positive, wholesome books” that would build up the community and the nation as a whole.
“These parents, they came together, they took this issue into their own hands, and here they are presenting something positive,” said Harris.
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A popular “superfan” of the Phoenix Suns and high school basketball coach, “Mr. ORNG,” was arrested on Wednesday on charges of soliciting minors for sexual content.
The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office revealed that Mr. ORNG, 37-year-old Patrick Battillo, had been arrested following notification to the Peoria Police Department of a sexual offense investigation into Battillo at his alma mater, Peoria High School (PHS), where he served as head coach of the boys basketball team.
The investigation concerned reports that Battillo had solicited minors for sexually explicit photos and videos of themselves. In return, Battillo allegedly offered money to the minors.
Battillo was charged with luring a minor for sexual exploitation and child sex trafficking, both classified as felonies. Luring a minor for sexual exploitation qualifies as a class 3 felony, which carries a prison sentence ranging from two to eight years in prison. Child sex trafficking qualifies as a class 2 felony, which carries a prison sentence ranging from 13 to 27 years for first offenders.
Battillo wasn’t the only one arrested on Wednesday in relation to his alleged crimes. A coworker, 46-year-old Holly Holgate, was arrested on charges of hindering prosecution and failure to report the neglect of a minor. According to a statement from Peoria Unified School District (PUSD), Holgate warned Battillo that police were coming for him so that Battillo could leave the school. Holgate had worked at Peoria High School for over 20 years.
Battillo began coaching at PHS in 2016, starting out as an assistant coach for the varsity team. PUSD indicated that Batillo’s fingerprint and background check came back clear. Holgate’s fingerprint clearance was also up to date.
Holgate was the club sponsor for Jobs For Arizona Graduates, a club helping sophomores and juniors make career transitions. In 2020, Holgate was awarded the “Pride of Peoria” by PUSD for being “a selfless server of students, always willing to go the extra mile, always looking out for all of the interests of the students.”
In a 2022 interview with Cronkite News, Battillo described his players as his family and noted that the boys relied on him for “comfort and guidance.”
“The relationships I have made with current and former players, fans of the Suns and at the NBA level, transcending that and those experiences of my relationships with those people to the relationship I have with my athletes, all comes full circle,” said Battillo.
Battillo said that he felt it was his duty as a coach to make men out of his players.
“Life is bigger than basketball, and all of it comes full circle,” said Battillo. “How you treat others, how you develop each other specifically at the high school level, how you develop these young men into men during this crucial transition in their life.”
As of this report, his verified X account, @PHXMRORNG, and Instagram account, @mrorng, were still active.
Battillo gained a fan following over a decade ago for showing up to Suns games with his body and hair painted entirely orange and decked out in team merchandise. His popularity would afford him opportunities to lead on a number of fundraisers and charity events over the years.
In addition to coaching PHS basketball, Battillo co-hosted the Inferno podcast through Bleav Sports. Battillo received an educational doctorate from Grand Canyon University (GCU) in 2022.
Battillo was regularly invited to speak at various schools around the Valley. His latest speaking engagement occurred last Thursday at Legacy Traditional Schools in Peoria for “ORNG Day.”
Governor Katie Hobbs appointed a new member to the Arizona Citizens Clean Elections Commission: Christina Estes-Werther, formerly the deputy general counsel for former Governor Jan Brewer and state elections director for former Secretary of State Ken Bennett.
In a press release last Friday, the governor explained that she selected Estes-Werther for her extensive knowledge of Arizona election law and administration.
“With her years of practical experience in elections at the state, county, and local level, I am confident that she will bring valuable insight to the Commission as it continues its important work during the 2024 election year.”
Estes-Werther most recently served as one of 18 members of Hobbs’ Bipartisan Elections Task Force, established at the beginning of last year via executive order. Estes-Werther is a partner at the Pierce Coleman law firm; she often serves as counsel for local governments in election-related lawsuits.
That task force earned the ire of some Republican lawmakers, who claimed it was the governor’s way of circumventing transparency in modifying election law and procedures. The task force issued a 69-page report last November with proposals to improve elections administration ahead of the 2024 election.
Hobbs tapped into $2.3 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding to carry out some of the proposed changes issued by the task force. The reliance on federal funding ensured the governor had more flexibility in working around the legislature to seek out her desired reforms.
A year before being named to Hobbs’ task force, in 2022, Estes-Werther served as the privately retained counsel for Santa Cruz County in its lawsuit against an election integrity organization led by Tucsonan John Brakey, AUDIT USA, for submitting a public records request seeking the 2022 primary election’s cast vote records.
The county had sued AUDIT USA after denying the request, in an attempt to squelch further efforts by the organization to obtain the records.
In court proceedings, Estes-Werther had argued on behalf of the county that government officials had the right to sue over fears that the independent auditors’ continued public records attempts would eventually result in a lawsuit against the county.
Estes-Werther characterized AUDIT USA’s attempts at obtaining transparency as putting “a target on [the county’s] back.” A Pima County judge tossed the county’s lawsuit, declaring that Brakey and AUDIT USA had the right to challenge the denial of their public records request.
The judge, Casey McGinley, expressed concern that the county was attempting to set precedent for lawfare against private citizens seeking transparency from their government, per audio recordings obtained by Tucson Sentinel.
“What’s to stop a county from deciding that they’re going to sue a private entity, whether it’s a person or group of people, for fear that one day that person might seek a public records request that they don’t want to provide?” asked McGinley. “I think we can all imagine very nefarious scenarios that could result if a county or other government official could file a lawsuit seeking declaratory relief in response to a public records request.”
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A transgender high school teacher received a three-year suspension of his teaching certificate for multiple alleged offenses, which included discussing his sex life and conducting private storage closet excursions with students.
Erin Quigley — a man who identifies as a woman — up until recently taught sports medicine for Amphitheater High School at Amphitheater Public Schools (APS) in Tucson.
In response to an investigation launched last year by the Arizona State Board of Education (ASBE), Quigley agreed to a negotiated settlement in which Quigley’s teaching certificate would be suspended for three years. Quigley also agreed to take the National Association of State Directors of Teacher Education and Certification Prevention and Correction course.
ASBE’s case file on Quigley noted that he gave a student a gold necklace under the pretext of being a “secret admirer” and texted that student to discuss his personal life. According to ASBE, Quigley regularly gave out his personal phone number to students. On at least one occasion, Quigley was reported to have given his home address as well when he invited the entire class to his house for a Thanksgiving dinner.
The student gifted the necklace also reported that Quigley publicly discussed his sex life with students, offering details about how he had sex with many women in the past. Quigley also reportedly encouraged his students to share their sex lives — such as whether they were sexually active or if they needed Quigley to buy condoms for them — and other private information with him.
Another student in Quigley’s class reported that Quigley would periodically leave his classroom to take several other students into a storage closet for up to 20 minutes at a time, leaving the other students unattended.
Quigley also reportedly asked students to hook him up with their “hot aunts.”
In one reported instance, Quigley participated in a prank requested by another student in which Quigley told a female student that he heard two heartbeats through his stethoscope on her midsection, and offered to buy her a pregnancy test.
Quigley also reportedly divulged details of the abuse he experienced from his father, as well as the gender transition processes he had yet to undertake.
ASBE further reported that Quigley managed multiple school clubs granting him off-campus time and access to his students.
ASBE began investigating Quigley after receiving a report of unprofessional conduct from the high school’s general counsel and associate to the superintendent last January.
According to a feature by Northern Arizona University (NAU), Quigley received his Career and Technical Education (CTE) Bachelor of Science in Education (BSED) in 2015, followed by a CTE graduate certificate in 2016.
However, neither of NAU’s commencement programs from 2015 (May, December) listed any CTE BSED candidates named “Erin Quigley,” nor do they list any individuals with the last name “Quigley.” NAU ceased digitizing its full commencement programs after 2015.
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