For the second time this week, a resident of the Southwest Alaska community of Dillingham has been charged with sexually abusing a 15-year-old girl, local police say.
The 49-year-old Roy C. Kasak was arrested Oct. 25 on a warrant that was issued following an alleged sex abuse attack in late August.
Police opened an investigation Aug. 6 after the alleged abuse was reported by the Office of Children's Services. The police interviewed Kasak on Oct. 31, who reportedly admitted to some, but not all, of the allegations made against him by the victim.
Kasak was taken into custody on one charge of Sexual Abuse of a Minor in the 3rd degree, a class C felony charge that refers to sexual contact involving inappropriate touching or fondling.
"We got the call on Sept. 6, when Office of Children's Services reported sexual abuse," said Dan Pasquariello, chief of police for the Dillingham Police Department. "We immediately began our investigation following the report. The child was interviewed at the Child Advocacy Center at the Kanakanak hospital. After interviewing the child, we placed the incident in question to about 10 days to a week earlier. We interviewed a few witnesses and determined that Kasak was our suspect."
The allegations against Kasak that imply sexual abuse involve an incident where Kasak had offered the 15-year-old victim a ride home before kissing and fondling her in his vehicle. Kasak was held on $5,000 bail at the Dillingham jail pending his scheduled arraignment last Friday.
"The victim disclosed more sexual contact than Kasak admitted to when speaking with the officers who interviewed him. This is pretty typical in sexual abuse cases like this," Pasquariello said.
Kasak is the second man who has been charged with sexual abuse of a minor in the past week, as another Dillingham resident, Wesley P. Richard, 23, was arrested for allegedly having sexual contact with a 15-year-old student who was enrolled at the Dillingham High School.
Richard was the assistant wresting coach as well as a substitute teacher at the Dillingham High School, where he had taught classes where the 15-year-old victim has been in attendance. This detail makes Richard an authority figure in this case, which will increase the severity of his crime as well as his sentence if convicted.
Richard was arrested on Oct. 21 on the charges four days before Kasak was arrested on the charges of sexual abuse of a minor in the 3rd degree.
"Unfortunately, we get cases similar to this every six to eight weeks involving sexual misconduct with a minor," Pasquariello said. "In some of these cases, we get enough evidence to make a case against these offenders, and in other cases we don't. We do see these cases happen consistently."
Kasak was arrested and arraigned this past Oct. 25 and his next court appearance is scheduled to be on Jan. 6, 2014.
Kasak was also on probation during the time of his most recent arrest for alcohol importation from an arrest that occurred in 2010. The charge of violating his probation will be added to the charges.
This article originally appeared in The Bristol Bay Times and is reprinted here with permission.