ANCHORAGE (KTUU) It's not often that someone handcuffed, in shackles, and facing a Superior Court judge on felony assault and robbery charges is greeted as a hero. But Jason Vukovich was last week, at least by some from a distance.
Little about the case against him is ordinary.
The 41-year-old is accused of using the state government sex offender registry to find his alleged victims, three men previously convicted of sex offenses ranging from possession of child pornography to attempted sex abuse of a minor. All three served prison terms but were still required to report their home and work addresses.
Prosecutors claim, over a five-day stretch in June, that Vukovich tracked the men down at their homes and used a hammer to threaten, assault, and rob them.
After his arrest, the defendant penned a letter to Alaska Dispatch News saying he had been physically and sexually abused as a child and described himself as an "avenging angel."
Some who read the initial story and subsequent news coverage have reacted with condemnation, saying he was a vigilante acting outside the law, deserving a lengthy jail term for attacking people who already served time for their crimes. But many more said things like this: "You are my hero." ... "Give the man an award. If there is a child molester, that individual should be shot and killed." ... "You'll get much respect inside for sure, and on the outside when you're done."
