An Anchorage man is accused of sexually abusing two young sisters who were staying with him and threatening to kill one of the girls, her friends and family with a 26-inch sword if she told anyone.
Detectives also found images of the sexual exploitation of infants on the man's computer, police said Thursday.
Police say Keone Jason Lee, 28, began sexually abusing an 11-year-old girl and her 6-year-old sister soon after he let them stay in his camping trailer, police said. The trailer is parked at his mother's East Anchorage home, police said.
The girls, their mother and two other children had been homeless and moved in with Lee in early July, according to police.
Lee threatened the 11-year-old with the sword, brandishing the weapon, which has a sharpened 18-inch blade, police said.
"He had a fully functional sword," Detective Chris Thomas said. "There's nothing toy-like about it."
Thomas said the sexual abuse occurred for at least a month and it came to light when the older girl told a family friend when she was away from the trailer. The friend told the mother and called police, who began investigating the case July 19.
Investigators also found more than 250 images depicting the sexual exploitation of infants and other images of child pornography on Lee's computer, police said. Investigators don't know if Lee produced the images or downloaded them from the Internet.
Anchorage detectives discover infant pornography -- as opposed to images or video depicting older children -- in only about 2 percent of all child pornography investigations, said police spokeswoman Anita Shell.
"It is out there, but it's not that prevalent," she said.
The police department's cybercrimes unit is still conducting a forensic investigation on that aspect of the case. No pornography charges have been filed, but more charges may follow, Shell said.
In 2007, Lee was convicted by a military court martial at Ford Hood, Texas, on two counts of possession of child pornography, according to Alaska's sex offender registry. That conviction led to Lee's discharge from the military, Shell said.
In Alaska, he was charged with failure to register as sex offender, but the charge was dismissed, according to online court records.
Police do not know when Lee moved to Anchorage or why, Shell said.
Lee was arrested Wednesday and is charged with four counts of first-degree sexual abuse of a minor, five counts of second-degree sexual abuse of a minor and two counts of assault. He was being held at the Anchorage jail on $100,000 bail.
There is no listing for Lee in Anchorage and it was unclear if he has an attorney.
Asked if the children are with their mother, Thomas would only say "all four of the kids are safe."
Police suspect Lee may have molested other children.
Anyone with information about other potential victims is asked to call police at 786-2628.
Staff and wire reports