Joshua Aseltine, 44, was sentenced by Kenai Superior Court Judge Kelly Lawson on Thursday, Dec. 4, to 28 years in prison for crimes including sexual abuse of a minor and possessing child pornography. The sentence is pursuant to a plea agreement.
According to a Dec. 5 press release from the State of Alaska Department of Law, Aseltine’s convictions are the result of a multi-year investigation that revealed he had provided two female minors, who at the time were between the ages of 13 and 15, with controlled substances and engaged in repeated acts of sexual penetration with them. Aseltine also coerced and threatened one of the minors and repeatedly encouraged her to engage in video calls with him, which he recorded without the victim’s knowledge, where he would solicit her to engage in sexual acts.
Lawson sentenced Aseltine to 30 years with 10 years suspended for his conviction of a consolidated count of second-degree sexual abuse of a minor. Aseltine was also sentenced to 30 years with 15 years suspended for a consolidated count of possession of child pornography. The composite sentence imposed for both convictions was 60 years with 25 years suspended. However, according to the release, after accounting for some of the active time imposed to run concurrently, Aseltine was ordered to serve an “initial” active imprisonment term of 28 years.
Upon release from custody, Aseltine will be on felony probation for 20 years and will be required to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.
According to the release, the sentence imposed by Lawson was “aggravated” partially as a result of Aseltine’s prior criminal history, which includes three felony convictions. “More significantly,” the release states, the negotiated plea agreement reflects that isolation and community condemnation were the “primary factors” for the State in making any plea offer due to the presence of multiple aggravating factors, specifically that the conduct at issue was the “most serious” for the offenses he pleaded guilty to and that there was more than a 10-year age difference between Aseltine and both victims.
The Alaska State Troopers were the primary investigating agency with multiple law enforcement officers contributing to the investigation for this case.
“Although the matter took some time to investigate and resolve, the outcome reflects both the strength and thoroughness of the investigation and the bravery of the two victims to disclose the abuse and confront their abuser,” the release states. “Through this plea agreement, Aseltine is held accountable for his conduct while minimizing further impact on the victims.”
