Wasilla man, 71, faces five counts of possessing child sexual abuse material

Task Force Dawnbreaker arrested a 71-year-old Wasilla man on Tuesday, Oct. 6, in a child sexual abuse material investigation, the Alaska Department of Public Safety said.

The department's dispatch said he was arrested on distribution and possession charges, but his criminal case in Palmer lists five counts of possessing child sexual abuse material, each a class C felony, and no distribution count. He was remanded without bail to the Mat-Su Pretrial Facility.

The case began in August, when the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children sent the task force a Cybertip. The tip indicated a user in the Wasilla area was distributing the material, according to the Alaska Department of Public Safety dispatch. Investigators identified him as that user. He was arrested without incident.

Task Force Dawnbreaker is a partnership between the Alaska Bureau of Investigation Technical Crimes Unit and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Investigations, according to a July department dispatch. The national center runs the CyberTipline, which takes reports of suspected online child exploitation.

Charges are accusations, and he is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. He was arraigned Wednesday, and a preliminary hearing is scheduled for Oct. 26 at the Palmer Courthouse. The Public Defender Agency represents him.