The Anchorage Daily News reports that 20-year-old Brandon Hughes, originally charged with first-degree assault, pleaded guilty to second-degree assault against Alec Ahsoak this week, and has been sentenced to three years in prison under the plea bargain.
Hughes will be eligible for both parole and time off for good behavior, which could cut his sentence by one third. Anchorage Superior Court Judge Patrick McKay accepted the plea and sentenced Hughes on Monday May 18th, 2009.
The victim, Alec Ahsoak, is a registered sex offender who won the $500,000 jackpot in a lottery held in January to benefit Standing Together Against Rape (STAR). As previously documented, Hughes encountered Ahsoak at the Fifth Avenue Mall in downtown Anchorage on January 13th, and asked him if he was the lottery winner, to which Ahsoak responded affirmatively.
Minutes later, the two encountered each other again a short distance from the mall, and Hughes attacked Ahsoak, hitting him on the head with a tire iron, striking him between eight and 10 times until Ahsoak threw a soda at his attacker and ran to Phyllis' Cafe for help.
Ahsoak was then transported to a local hospital to be treated for his injuries, which proved not be life-threatening or permanent. The attack seemed completely illogical at the time, but ADN revealed in today's story that Hughes actually knew a relative of one or more of Ahsoak's sexual abuse victims. So he decided to play "hero", get revenge, and got prison time instead.
By the way, when Alaska's done with Hughes, California wants him, too. He faces California charges of violating felony probation and possessing a dangerous instrument. California officials plan to extradite Hughes when the case against him here is finished.
Ahsoak won the $500,000 jackpot in a lottery held in January to benefit Standing Together Against Rape (STAR). After taxes, Ahsoak took home $350,000 prize, while STAR ended up receiving only about $11,000 from the sale of lottery tickets.
Ahsoak's bounty triggered some public outcry within the local community, but most people agreed that since there is no law requiring a sex offender to give back the money since it was a privately-run lottery, he should be allowed to keep it.
A KTUU poll taken at the time showed that 58 percent of respondents thought he should be allowed to keep the money. To defray criticism, Ahsoak pledged to donate $100,000 of his winnings to STAR, but as of April 21st, he has not delivered on that pledge. ..Source.. by Anchorage Activist
Sex offender wins $500,000 Alaska lottery
1-13-2009:
An Alaska lottery held to raise money for a group that helps sexual abuse victims had a surprise winner: a convicted sex offender.
Alec Ahsoak, who according to the state sex offender registry was convicted in 1993 and 2000 for sexual abuse of a minor, came forward Saturday with the winning ticket for the $500,000 Lucky Time Pull Tabs jackpot.
Proceeds of the lottery help Standing Together Against Rape in Anchorage, a nonprofit group that offers support to sexual assault victims among other services.
"It's not how we had envisioned the story going," Nancy Haag, the group's executive director, told CNN Radio.
Alaska has the highest per capita number of rape cases in the United States, according to FBI statistics.
"With a ranking that high, it's ironic that the person who wins is a convicted sex offender," Haag added.
Ahsoak's past was first revealed by KTUU-TV in Anchorage on Sunday. His attorney, Lance Wells, did not immediately return a call Monday from CNN.
Efforts to reach lottery organizer Abe Spicola, who owns Lucky Times Pull Tabs, were unsuccessful late Monday. But Spicola told the Anchorage Daily News that Ahsoak "was going to buy a house and said he was going to donate part of it to God, and, you know, charity." ..Source.. by CNN
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