Press Release

Ernest Hernandez Convicted of Sexual Abuse

April 27, 2017

(ANCHORAGE, Alaska) Yesterday, an Anchorage jury found 22 year old Ernest Hernandez guilty of sexually abusing a 12 year old in December 2015. The jury found Hernandez guilty of sexual abuse of a minor in the second degree after a four day trial.

In May 2016, a detective from the Anchorage Police Department’s Crimes against Children Unit responded to a report from the Office of Children’s Services that a 12 year old girl reported that her 21 year old brother sexually abused her in the living room where she had been sleeping. The investigation revealed that Hernandez lived in the same home as his sister in December 2015. The Anchorage Police Department arrested Hernandez in June 2016.

Superior Court Judge Jack Smith presided over the trial and scheduled sentencing for August 14, 2017. Hernandez faces a sentence range of five to 15 years in prison. Hernandez has been in the custody of the Department of Corrections since his arrest. He will remain in custody until the sentencing hearing.

If you have concerns that a child may have been physically or sexually abused, contact 911 in an emergency or contact Alaska CARES at (907) 561-8301. For more information about Alaska CARES, go to http://alaska.providence.org/locations/c/cares.

CONTACT: Assistant District Attorney Kevin Bergt at (907) 269-6300 or kevin.bergt@alaska.gov. More information about the Anchorage District Attorney’s Office is available at http://www.law.alaska.gov/department/criminal/adao.html.

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Department Media Contacts: Communications Director Patty Sullivan at patty.sullivan@alaska.gov or (907) 269-6368. Information Officer Sam Curtis at sam.curtis@alaska.gov or (907) 269-6269.