Alaska News

Glennallen dentist found not guilty in rape case

An Anchorage jury found a former Glennallen dentist accused of sexually assaulting a colleague not guilty on all charges Wednesday after a two-week trial.

Kevin Brent Shedlock, 44, was found not guilty of four second-degree sexual assault charges after two days of deliberation by the jury. If convicted, he would have faced the possibility of decades in prison.

At the outset of the trial, prosecutor Clint Campion contended that Shedlock had repeatedly taken sexual advantage of a co-worker from the Wrangell Mountain Dental Clinic in a drunken encounter during a 2013 work conference at an Anchorage hotel.

Defense attorneys Wally Tetlow and James Christie argued that the sex was consensual and the woman's regret over the incident led her to report it as a sexual assault.

On Wednesday, defense attorney James Christie said his client should never have been charged with a crime.

"This case represents a troubling lack of judgment by the district attorney's office in bringing these charges," Christie said. "It also stands for the proposition that a citizen jury can serve as a check against government overreach."

Shedlock, who voluntarily relinquished his credential to practice dentistry in Alaska while the case was pending, will seek to get it back, Christie said.

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"He's anxious to return to life as he knew it before charges were filed," he said.

Campion, the district attorney, said he respected the jury's decision and the two days of deliberation it took to reach a verdict.

"I stand by the arguments I made in front of the jury," he said. "I do think this is a case that should have been charged."

Michelle Theriault Boots

Michelle Theriault Boots is a longtime reporter for the Anchorage Daily News. She focuses on in-depth stories about the intersection of public policy and Alaskans' lives. Before joining the ADN in 2012, she worked at daily newspapers up and down the West Coast and earned a master's degree from the University of Oregon.

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