Newly Outed Arizona Republican Sheriff Paul Babeu Pushes Back Against Lurid Accusations Made By Sister Lucy

In recent weeks, Arizona sheriff and once-rising Republican star Paul Babeu has publicly acknowledged that he’s gay, denied allegations that he threatened to deport his ex-lover, a Mexican national, and vowed to press forward with his bid for Congress. But a new set of allegations has emerged, setting off an ugly (and very public) family feud between Babeu and his older sister Lucy. KNXV-TV in Phoenix aired a story Sunday about Babeu’s tenure as headmaster at a Massachusetts boarding school. Former students and state records said the school used controversial disciplinary methods, including something called “sheeting,” in which students were forced to take off their clothes and wear only a sheet. In the report, Lucy Babeu said her brother, who worked at the school from 1999 to 2001, dated a male student, an allegation former students also made on camera. The TV station did not name the former student, who was 17, which the report said was the age of consent in Massachusetts. “I said, ‘Paul, get a hold of yourself here,’ ” Lucy Babeu said in an on-camera interview. “ ‘You were his teacher! You were his executive director! You can't do this.’ ” A spokesman for Paul Babeu said the sheriff had never been “the target of any investigation or lawsuit” and “was recognized for helping restore financial stability of the school," according to a statement emailed to The Times. The statement said Babeu oversaw things such as grounds maintenance, and not decisions about curriculum or discipline. Furthermore, the statement said, "Sheriff Babeu never had a sexual relationship with a student. A student has never lived with Sheriff Babeu either." The day after the story aired, a law firm affiliated with Babeu’s campaign lashed out at his sister, according to the Arizona Daily Star. It released a detailed dossier saying she had mental health issues and had lost custody of her children, among other, more lurid allegations. Lucy Babeu called the charges “slanderous.” The law firm also released a statement from a former boarding school student named Joshua Geyer, who said he'd recently been contacted by the media regarding "allegations of an inappropriate relationship" with Babeu. "I have never at any time lived with or engaged in any inappropriate sexual relationship with Paul Babeu," the letter said. Babeu, who rose to prominence as a border enforcement hawk, is running against two other Republicans in a conservative district.