Crime & Courts

Anchorage man found guilty of sexually abusing 8-year-old girl

A 68-year-old Anchorage man was found guilty Thursday of sexually abusing an 8-year-old girl. The victim testified about being abused by defendant Jim Ferguson, according to the Anchorage District Attorney's office.

Jurors found Ferguson guilty on two counts of second-degree sexual abuse of a minor.

Ferguson abused the girl, a close family friend, when she was 8, Assistant District Attorney Jenna Gruenstein wrote in a press release. The girl was 10 when she finally told a family member about the abuse.

Gruenstien said the family member went directly to the state's Office of Children's Services, which referred the allegations to Anchorage police.

Anchorage police detective Leonard Torres led the subsequent investigation with Alaska Cares, an outpatient clinic that provides sexual and physical abuse evaluations, giving assistance.

A grand jury handed up charges against Ferguson in May 2013, according to online court records.

Ferguson's conviction "came after a two-and-a-half-week trial where the young victim bravely testified about the sexual abuse she had endured," the prosecutor said.

He faces 15 years in jail for each of the sex abuse counts. His sentencing was set for Nov. 21.

Jerzy Shedlock

Jerzy Shedlock is a former reporter for Alaska Dispatch News. He left the ADN in 2017.

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