A 34-year-old Haines man has been accused of sexually assaulting and ultimately raping an underage girl he worked with at a local grocery store.
In most cases, the Chilkat Valley News does not name alleged victims or perpetrators of crimes until the facts of the case are ruled on by the court.
According to charging documents, Haines police were first made aware of the allegations on Aug. 3 when the 16-year-old girl and her stepfather met police officer Travis Russell at the station to file a report. There, the girl described being raped by the man earlier that day at his apartment. She said she tried to stop him and told him she did not want it to happen, according to an affidavit Russell filed with the court. She also told police the man had assaulted her at least five times while the two were working together, occasionally blocking her from leaving the store’s breakroom and groping her.
On Aug. 6, police posed as the girl with the help of her stepfather and started texting the man. According to a transcript of that conversation included in the court documents, the man offered financial help and mentioned the potential of an unintended pregnancy.
Police, posing as the girl, asked why he raped her and what his intentions were. The man said he didn’t want to hurt her but agreed – according to the transcript of the conversation – that he had, in fact, raped her. He apologized and told her he had left the job and was considering leaving town.
Later that day, Officer Russell went to the man’s house and interviewed him. According to Russell’s affidavit to the court, the man admitted to having first assaulted the teenager in late July. He detailed communicating with the girl on Instagram and asking for pictures of her – which she sent. He also said the girl’s brother had confronted him after the rape to tell him to stay away from the teen, according to Russell’s report. The man also told Russell that he had thought the final sexual encounter was consensual and that he thought she would have physically pushed him away or verbally said “no.”
He also told Russell that he didn’t know how old the girl was until she told him in a text after the assault, according to the affidavit.
The man was arrested on Aug. 7 and charged with several felonies including sexual assault in the third degree – which carries a punishment ranging anywhere from two to 12 years in prison; sexual assault in the second degree – which can carry a punishment of five to 15 years in prison, and sexual assault in the first degree, which can come with 15 to 30 years in prison.
He was arraigned in Juneau on Aug. 22, and has been bonded out for $14,000.
The next hearing in his case is in Juneau on Oct. 2.