Alaska Man Pleads Guilty to Sexually Abusing Seven Children, Faces 35 Years of Active Prison Time
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — William John Sorenson, 49, pleaded guilty on November 9 to two counts of sexual abuse of a minor in the first degree, the Alaska Department of Law announced. Under the plea, Sorenson will receive a sentence of 50 years with 25 years suspended on each count, with 10 years to run consecutively, for a total of 35 years of active prison time. Formal sentencing is set for April 6, 2027.
According to the department, the abuse occurred from 2003 through 2018 in Fairbanks and Anchorage, Alaska. Sorenson befriended single or divorced mothers and, when entrusted with their children, engaged in sexual penetration or sexual contact with them. Seven victims came forward, ranging in age from about 4 to about 15, and some were abused for years.
The case began in 2018, when one victim reported the abuse to the Anchorage Police Department. Detectives then found three other victims who had reported abuse in Fairbanks in the early 2000s, and three more victims later came forward, with those charges added to the case. As part of the plea, Sorenson admitted to abusing each of the seven reporting victims. He is being held in the custody of the Alaska Department of Corrections.
The case was investigated by the Anchorage Police Department's Crimes Against Children Unit and the Alaska State Troopers' Alaska Bureau of Investigation, and was prosecuted by Anchorage Assistant District Attorney Tylor Schmitt and Assistant Attorney General Amy Wang of the Office of Special Prosecutions.
Source: Alaska Department of Law
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：阿拉斯加州 Anchorage 市景（资料图）。（Wikimedia Commons／CC BY 4.0） / Photo: Anchorage, Alaska (file photo). (Wikimedia Commons / CC BY 4.0)
