The Alaska Department of Law is the state agency that prosecutes crimes and represents Alaska's government in court. Led by the attorney general, it handles criminal prosecutions, civil litigation, consumer protection and charity regulation across Alaska's courts.
Photo by Bernt Rostad, via Flickr · Photo source · CC BY 2.0
law.alaska.gov ↗Alaska
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Man pleads guilty in child sexual abuse case, admits abusing seven children
A 49-year-old man pleaded guilty Monday to sexually abusing children in Fairbanks and Anchorage from 2003 to 2018, and he will receive a sentence with 35 years to serve, the Alaska Department of Law said.
As part of his plea, William John Sorensen admitted sexually abusing seven children, ages about 4 to 15, some of them for years. He pleaded guilty in Anchorage Superior Court to two counts of first-degree sexual abuse of a minor on what was scheduled as the first day of his jury trial, and prosecutors dismissed 16 other charges, court records show.
He befriended single or divorced mothers, then abused their children when they were left in his care, and the abuse went on until the children reported it or moved away from him, the department said.
The case began in 2018, when one victim reported the abuse to Anchorage police. Detectives found three others who had reported abuse in Fairbanks in the early 2000s, and three more came forward later. Sorensen has been in custody since October 2018, according to police. Last year, police said detectives believed there could be more victims, possibly from before 2018, who hadn't come forward.
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About Alaska Department of Law
Photo by Bernt Rostad, via Flickr · Photo source · CC BY 2.0
law.alaska.gov ↗Alaska
The Alaska Department of Law is the state agency that prosecutes crimes and represents Alaska's government in court. Led by the attorney general, it handles criminal prosecutions, civil litigation, consumer protection and charity regulation.
Its prosecutors bring cases in courts from Anchorage, Fairbanks and Palmer to Bethel, Nome and Kodiak, with sexual abuse of children, sexual assault and homicide among the most frequent. Its Medicaid Fraud Control Unit charges fraud against the program, and its civil lawyers join multistate settlements over drug price-fixing and data breaches.
The department defends state agencies and decisions in court, in disputes ranging from the federal rural subsistence priority to the Indian Child Welfare Act and election certification. It also advises agencies on their authority to sue or settle.
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