DanelJohn Santos sentenced to 30 years for sexually abusing children he babysat

A 29-year-old man will serve 30 years in prison for sexually abusing children he babysat. Anchorage Superior Court Judge Peter Ramgren sentenced DanelJohn Capid Santos on July 28 on one consolidated count of sexual abuse of a minor.

Santos will serve 15 years on probation after the prison term and must register as a sex offender for life. The Alaska Sex Offender/Child Kidnapper Registry says offenders in that category verify their reported information every quarter.

An investigation by the Anchorage Police Department's Crimes Against Children Unit found that Santos abused multiple children under the age of 13 while caring for them as a babysitter, according to the Alaska Department of Law. The department's announcement also identifies Santos as a former employee of the State of Alaska's Office of Children's Services. It does not say when he worked there or in what role, and it does not connect the abuse to that employment.

An Anchorage grand jury indicted Santos on 15 counts on June 6, 2024. He entered a plea agreement with the state and pleaded guilty to the single consolidated count on March 13, 2026.

In his sentencing remarks, Ramgren said sexual crimes against children have a destructive ripple effect on families, and said Santos abused a position of trust to violate young and vulnerable children, according to the Department of Law. Assistant District Attorney Erin E. White prosecuted the case. Detective Jack Kleinsmith led the investigation.

When APD announced the indictment in June 2024, it asked anyone with information about the case or other potential victims to call 311, the department's non-emergency dispatch line, and reference case No. 23-40668.

The account of the Santos case comes from state and police releases. No defense statement appears in that material.