Crime & Courts

Former detention center officer convicted of sexually abusing 16-year-old inmate

A 50-year-old man who worked as a juvenile justice officer at McLaughlin Youth Center until 2015 was convicted Thursday on multiple counts of sexually abusing a 16-year-old female inmate.

Phillip Eugene Bigham was found guilty of seven counts of first-degree sexual abuse of a minor, as well as solicitation and fourth-degree attempted escape, according to a statement Friday from the Anchorage District Attorney's Office.

Bigham worked for more than four years at the facility operated by the state Division of Juvenile Justice.

He resigned the job in November 2015 after his superiors called him into a meeting to talk about outings he took with the girl to secluded areas, according to charging documents. He kept his job for another week.

McLaughlin staff discovered in the weeks after Bigham left that he had secretly remained in contact with the girl, writing her letters detailing an escape plan, prosecutors say. She then disclosed that he had sexually abused her on seven occasions over four days before he left the job.

Anchorage police later recorded a phone conversation between them during which he told her how to escape, promised to hide her, told him he loved her "and reminded her, 'If anything goes down, you don't know s*#t.' "

Bigham was arrested later that day, and Anchorage police detectives recovered several photos of the girl in her underwear on his home computer, according to the release.

Bigham's sentencing is scheduled for mid-March. He faces a presumptive sentence of 50 to 60 years and was jailed without bail pending the March hearing. He had been on electronic monitoring.

Zaz Hollander

Zaz Hollander is a veteran journalist based in the Mat-Su and is currently an ADN local news editor and reporter. She covers breaking news, the Mat-Su region, aviation and general assignments. Contact her at zhollander@adn.com.

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