Anchorage police arrest bail jumper for sexual assault of woman in tent

A shelter group up wrong Valley of The Moon Park successful Anchorage connected Monday, July 1, 2024. A female sheltering successful a shelter adjacent reported being sexually assaulted astatine gunpoint connected June 4, followed by another’s woman’s study of an attempted intersexual battle astatine knifepoint connected June 8. (Adam Nicely/Alaska Public Media)

Anchorage constabulary arrested a bail jumper past week accused of sexually assaulting and robbing a female astatine gunpoint who was sheltering successful a shelter adjacent a metropolis park. Police opportunity they’re besides investigating a abstracted relationship of an attempted intersexual battle astatine knifepoint successful nan aforesaid spot 4 days later by a man pinch a akin description. 

Alesana Siaulaiga, a.k.a. Shadow, is being held astatine nan Anchorage Correctional Complex connected $50,000 bail. The 22-year-old is charged pinch 2 counts of intersexual assault, 1 count of equipped robbery and 1 count of assault, each felonies tied to nan reported rape connected June 4 adjacent Valley of nan Moon Park.

Siaulaiga pleaded not blameworthy and is being represented by nan Public Defender Agency. His lawyer Keith Thomas said Wednesday he had conscionable been assigned nan lawsuit and had nary comment. 

Detective Robin Nave of nan Anchorage Police Department’s Special Victims Unit is investigating nan case. In a tribunal filing seeking an apprehension warrant for Siaulaiga, she relayed nan victim’s account. The female told Nave she woke up connected nan greeting of June 4 to a alien equipped pinch a handgun unzipping her tent. She said he threatened to sprout her if she didn’t comply pinch his demands. After forcing her to person sex, she said nan assailant stole her laptop and left.

Nave told nan tribunal she was besides investigating an attempted intersexual battle pinch a 2nd female that occurred a fewer days later – successful nan first victim’s now vacant tent.

The 2nd unfortunate told nan detective she met her assailant for nan first clip erstwhile she was connected a parkland chair connected June 8. They chatted and past they walked into nan treeline to nan shelter that he indicated was his. Then, astatine knifepoint, he took her telephone and forced her in. She convinced him to fto her spell extracurricular to relieve herself, past was capable to push him away, but trim her manus connected nan knife. She ran and screamed for help, according to Nave.

Nave wrote that nan 2nd onslaught is still nether investigation, but she believes Siaulaiga is connected to nan assault.

Anchorage constabulary spokesperson Renee Oistad declined to opportunity if location are different unfastened intersexual battle aliases attempted intersexual battle cases targeting victims who shelter successful tents successful Anchorage. 

“Due to protecting nan integrity of nan investigation, we do not talk progressive intersexual battle cases unless/until charges are filed,” she said successful an email. 

Nave told nan tribunal that nan 2 women did not cognize each other. Nor did they cognize their assailant. They gave akin beingness descriptions of their assailant and some noted his Samoan accent. 

Oistad said nan Special Victims Unit doesn’t brushwood intersexual battle cases very often wherever nan unfortunate and assailant are strangers. According to Bureau of Justice Statistics information analyzed by nan RAINN, nan Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network, only astir 1 successful 5 rape victims are assaulted by a stranger. 

Nave, nan detective, told nan tribunal that while neither female was capable to positively place Siaulaiga successful a photograph lineup, DNA recovered from nan first unfortunate matched an existing floor plan for him successful a database rule enforcement agencies use. 

Before his apprehension past week, Siaulaiga was already wanted for six felonies and 4 misdemeanors for theft, assault, equipped robbery and failing to look successful tribunal aft being bailed out. Those charges were revenge past October and November. 

Academic researchers person long found that group without homes are nan victims of unit and intersexual unit astatine extraordinarily precocious rates compared to nan wide population. 

The National Coalition for nan Homeless believes there’s a nonstop nexus betwixt nan criminalization of homelessness and nan unit group without homes experience. 

“Criminalizing homelessness not only villainizes group experiencing homelessness; it besides forces them into isolation, making them easy targets for those intent connected causing harm to them,” wrote nan authors of a May conjugation report. 

The U.S. Supreme Court last week overturned a Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals precedent that had protected bum group successful Alaska and different occidental states from reward for camping successful nationalist spaces erstwhile they person obscurity other to go.

The conjugation warned that nan “ruling could unfastened nan doorway to wide criminalization of group experiencing homelessness, which successful move could lead to much mislaid lives.”Former Anchorage Mayor Dave Bronson supported nan ruling, while nan caller Mayor Suzanne LaFrance said it shouldn’t distract from existent solutions for illustration housing, shelter and entree to treatment.