Anchorage man charged with sexually abusing child may have other victims, police say

Anchorage police say they are investigating additional reports of potential abuse involving a former Anchorage child care worker after publicizing his December arrest on child sex abuse charges.

DanelJohn Santos, 27, remained jailed at Goose Creek Correctional Center this week after he was arrested on three counts of sexual abuse of a minor.

Before the arrest, police had investigated Santos four times over the last six years for separate reports that he inappropriately touched children in his care, according to criminal charges filed in the new case.

Investigators were contacted in mid-December by a parent who reported that Santos sexually assaulted her elementary-aged child while in his care at a private home, according to an affidavit written by Anchorage police detective Jack Kleinsmith and attached to the charges.

Since 2018, police investigated reports with similar circumstances, including accusations that Santos inappropriately touched children, the affidavit said. Charges were never filed in any of those cases because the children disclosed the abuse to family members, but didn’t talk about it during interviews with law enforcement, Guerin said by email on Monday.

The police department took the unusual step of notifying the public of Santos’ December arrest last week at the request of detectives, who determined he may have more victims, Guerin said. Police rarely publicize sexual assault arrests to protect victims, she said.

There are now “multiple open cases against him, to include new ones as a result of the press release,” Guerin said in an email Tuesday.

Over the past six years, Santos has worked with children at a day care facility, Camp Fire Alaska, and the Office of Children’s Services, the affidavit said. None of the investigations into Santos involved abuse reported while he was employed at those facilities, Guerin said. Police said Santos also worked as a babysitter and has “had contact with juveniles through different programs to include online services.”

During 2016 and 2017, he worked part-time at Camp Fire Alaska’s before-school and after-school programs, according to a statement from the organization. Santos passed a background check in 2016 and was cleared to work with children through the municipality’s childcare licensing program, the organization said.

He was fired in 2017 “for two concerns involving inappropriate professional boundaries with youth and potential grooming behavior with children,” the affidavit said. A spokeswoman for the organization did not answer questions about those reports this week.

Organization officials alerted families about Santos’ arrest after they learned of the charges Friday when a reporter contacted them, the statement said.

Santos was also fired from a job at a day care because he was accused of inappropriately touching children, the affidavit said. Police declined to say which day care facility was involved because it wasn’t directly involved in the cases they were investigating.

Santos worked as a social services associate for the Office of Children’s Services from 2021 to 2023, according to Brian Studstill, a spokesman for the Alaska Department of Family and Community Services. The position involved numerous duties, including clerical support, customer service and working closely with families and children, he said.

Studstill did not provide information about whether the office was aware of APD’s previous investigations into Santos’ conduct, citing personnel confidentiality policies.

Police asked parents who recognize Santos as someone who interacted with their children to speak with them about any inappropriate behavior they may have experienced or witnessed. Anyone who believes their child may have been a victim of Santos was urged to contact Kleinsmith by email at John.Kleinsmith@anchorageak.gov or at 907-727-4651.

This article has been updated with additional information to provide clarity about the previous police investigations into Santos.