Sexual Assault

John Brian Herring was sentenced to 35 years in prison with 14 suspended Friday for a brutal 2009 kidnapping and sexual assault against his wife. Herring admitted to violently attacking Jennifer Racette by binding her with zip ties and duct tape as well as choking her and driving her to a secluded spot on the Anchorage Hillside where he raped her multiple times. Racette, now Herring's ex-wife, said the event has changed her so much she now lives with constant fear. She's learned how to use a gun, and gotten a pit bull and an alarm system for her home.

A new study shows that one in two women in Anchorage report being sexually assaulted or victims of intimate partner violence over the course of their life.  The study was conducted by the Justice Center at the University of Anchorage Alaska and surveyed 710 women between April and June 2011.   Results showed 50.9% of women in the municipality of Anchorage experienced sexual assault or intimate partner violence during their lifetime, that's 54,313 women. 42.2% experienced intimate partner violence during their life, with 8.2% reporting incidents during 2011.

The Anchorage Police Department says it's now investigating five more potential victims that claim an Anchorage man sexually assaulted them.  Friday, the APD arrested 49-year-old Ralph Hernandez after he allegedly called an ex-girlfriend and asked if she would sedate her 14-year-old daughter in order for him to have sex with her. Police also charged him with sexually assaulting a 9-year-old.   Det. Sgt. Cindi Stanton says following the media reports of the arrest, a potential victim stepped forward.  The department was also able to make contact with four potential victims that they knew of, but had not yet made contact with.

The kidnap and sexual assault of a woman by her ex-husband was replayed in an Anchorage courtroom, as his sentencing was delayed. John Brian Herring, 42, has already pleaded guilty to first degree sexual assault. The issue at hand: how long would his sentence be?   What transpired was a mini-trial with evidence presented by an Anchorage police detective and a forensic nurse.   The crime took place in June 2009, when Herring's ex-wife had gone to his home to pick up a helmet, but police say when she arrived, he abducted her, and bound her with plastic zip ties and duct tape.

A sexual assault report brought the Anchorage police to the Northway Mall early Sunday morning. Just after 4:00 a.m., APD responded after a woman was found in the area crying for help. Neighbors in the area came to her assistance and called the police, according to APD. The victim told police that she had been staying in a tent with a man who demanded sex from her. After she refused and attempted to leave. As she ran from the camp, the suspect chased her down, punched her in the face multiple times and tried to strangle her. The suspect also threatened to kill her if she reported the crime.

Anchorage Assembly members got an earful Tuesday night from people who wanted to weigh in on a controversial proposed ordinance affecting taxi cab drivers. The ordinance would suspend chauffeur's licenses from drivers charged with sexual assault, even before they're convicted of a crime. Several cab drivers at Tuesday's meeting said they felt the law was unfair, and that the problem could be better dealt with by installing video cameras in all taxi cabs in the city. "If there was a camera inside the vehicle, and they were proven innocent -- because any time they're falsely accused -- that is very important that it comes out because that can wreck your life, of course," said cab driver Lynette Moreno-Hinz.

Anchorage police say an online relationship turned sour Wednesday when a woman from rural Alaska was sexually assaulted by a Point Lay man after the two met in Anchorage. According to APD spokesperson Lt. Dave Parker, the 19-year-old woman met 31-year-old Keith Tracey on the Internet about six months ago. After the two decided to meet in person, Tracey bought plane tickets to Anchorage for both the victim and himself; they booked hotel rooms at the Puffin Inn on Aug. 29 and the Dimond Center Hotel on Aug. 30. The woman told officers Tracey gave her alcohol Wednesday, then became angry about something she'd said and strangled her until she thought she was going to die. He allegedly beat her with his fists and forced her to have sex with him, despite her objecting and attempting to fight him off. Investigators say online relationships pose greater degrees of risk than those started in person, especially when travel is involved.

An Anchorage cab driver accused of sexually assaulting a woman in his cab earlier this month -- with other women telling police they were also assaulted by him -- had his bail increased tenfold at his arraignment Wednesday. District Court Judge Leonard “Bob” Linton Jr. set Chidiebere Nwokorie's bail at $50,000, with a third-party custodian required 24 hours a day. The increase followed widespread public anger after Magistrate James Stanley set his initial bail at $5,000 -- which Nwokorie posted the day of his arrest.

Anchorage police arrested a 39-year-old man Tuesday for allegedly attempting to rape an 18-year-old girl in Kincaid Park earlier this month. Investigators say Jeremy Bienek, a friend of the girl's family, offered to give her driving lessons at Kincaid Park on Aug. 15, then talked her into walking into the woods and tied her to a tree with duct tape. Officials say he also covered her mouth with the tape, but she was able to get away. Bienek has been charged with first-degree attempted sexual assault.

As Anchorage police investigate sexual assault charges against a cab driver who was arrested on Sunday, another taxi driver has been convicted of raping a woman in March 2010. Rafael Lopez Martinez, 44, was convicted of second-degree sexual assault Wednesday.   Martinez was arrested after a woman he picked up at a Downtown hotel told police that he had raped her in the back seat of his cab near her home in East Anchorage. Police say the woman had been drinking with friends from Bethel at the Comfort Inn in Ship Creek and passed out on the ride to her home.