Official in Northern Arizona indicted on child sex charges

KINGMAN, Ariz.-- An economic development leader who has been heavily involved in northwest Arizona politics has been indicted for alleged sex offenses involving his grandsons.

Don Van Brunt, 82, is charged with three counts of child molestation and one charge of sexual conduct with a minor.

Mohave County court records indicate that an investigation began last fall when Van Brunt's 17-year-old grandson told authorities in Orange County, Calif., that he was molested by his grandfather in Kingman, Ariz., when he was between the ages of 9 and 11. One of charges dates back to 1997 and involves the teen and his 24-year-old brother.

Van Brunt lost his job as executive director of the Mohave County Economic Development Authority in early 2000, after local media exposure of his counterfeit-related conviction in the early 1980s. He currently serves as a member of the Mohave County Workforce Investment Board and as a local Republican party precinct committeeman.

Van Brunt will be arraigned in Mohave County Superior Court. A date has not yet been set.