Crime & Courts

JBER soldier charged with sexually assaulting child

An Army medic faces a charge of first-degree sexual abuse of a minor after he was caught on video sexually assaulting a young girl in Eagle River, according to Anchorage police.

Jeremiah Gettler, 33, was arrested May 28 after officers received a report of a sexual assault in Eagle River, police said. He is being held on a $50,000 cash performance bond.

Charging documents filed in the case say a 40-second video captured Gettler assaulting the girl in the garage of an Eagle River residence. Police and prosecutors did not provide further details about how the video was obtained, other than to say it was seized from a witness.

According to prosecutors, Gettler recently returned to Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson from Texas.

Brandy Ostanik, public affairs officer for the U.S. Army Medical Department, said Gettler is a staff sergeant who has been in Alaska since November. Gettler worked as a medic at JBER Army Medical Home. Ostanik said he did not have contact with children there.

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