More information was released this week concerning a Bethel foster care parent accused of molesting children in his care over the course of two decades.
The Alaska Office of Children's Services released more foster-care files of Marilyn and Peter Tony. This summer Peter Tony, 69, was charged with multiple counts of sexual abuse of a minor involving children left in his care -- one through an unlicensed day care he operated, the other a foster child he and his wife cared for in 1998.
Tony's stepdaughter, Kimberley Hahn Bruesch, has spoken openly about the abuse she and her sisters faced under his care stretching back to the 1970s, though those instances fall outside Alaska statute of limitations laws.
The Office of Children's Services, the arm of the state Department of Health and Social Services that oversees foster care in Alaska, has come under scrutiny for its handling of the case.
Alaska has some of the highest rates of sexual assault and domestic violence in the nation. The state has taken notice, with Gov. Sean Parnell strong advocating his "Choose Respect" campaign aimed at curbing the high rates of domestic violence and sexual abuse in Alaska. The Yukon-Kuskokwim region, of which Bethel is the hub community for 50 villages spread over an area the roughly the size of Oregon, has been noted as an epicenter.
The original foster care files, released in July under a Freedom of Information Act request from Alaska Dispatch, referenced at least five allegations of abuse against Tony during his time as a foster parent, though only one was found to be substantiated. The release of 76 additional pages – which consists mostly of requests for the Tonys to take in more foster children than their license allowed -- makes two mentions of possible abuse. One memo from 1995 and another from 1992 referenced an allegation of abuse "approximately 10-12 years ago." Both of those cases were noted in the original file release.
Marilyn and Peter Tony were licensed foster care providers in Bethel from 1984 to 1998. The license was abruptly terminated following a "substantiated" allegation of abuse in 1998, though no charges were filed until this year.
Court records show that Peter Tony's trial date is scheduled for the end of October, though Bethel District Attorney June Stein noted that the trial most likely will not begin for at least a year.
Tony's attorney, Mark Osterman, filed a motion Sept. 30 for a psychological evaluation/examination of Tony. That process could take months or years, Stein said. Until then, a trial date remains on hold.
Reached in Bethel Friday, Osterman refused to comment on the file release or the psychological evaluation, citing "rules of professional conduct."
Stein had no comment on whether additional charges were being considered against Tony. "You're getting stuff and so are we," Stein said.
OCS Director Christy Lawton said her agency continues to stay in contact and share information requested by law enforcement. She said the office does not expect to find any additional records related to the Tony foster-care file.
Calls to the Bethel Police Department were not immediately returned Friday morning.
Contact Suzanna Caldwell at suzanna(at)alaskadispatch.com