Former Soldotna karate teacher Michael Dean Hancock, 57, has posted bail in both his criminal cases relating to sexual abuse of a minor and child pornography.
Hancock was indicted Feb. 3 with one charge of first-degree sexual abuse of a minor, a charge of second-degree sexual abuse of a minor and three charges of unlawful exploitation of a minor for incidents that allegedly took place in 2006 and 2007, according to the indictment. At the time, he was already in custody in Anchorage following a grand jury indictment in January for 13 charges relating to the possession and distribution of child pornography.
In the local case, Hancock now faces only the first two charges of first-degree and second-degree sexual abuse of a minor, according to online court records.
Online court records show Hancock’s brother posted $10,000 cash performance bonds for both cases Thursday. At a bail review hearing held Aug. 10 at the Kenai Courthouse, Superior Court Judge Anna Moran approved a bail agreement for the Kenai case but said Hancock could not be released from jail unless a similar agreement was reached in Anchorage. Hancock had another bail review hearing for the Anchorage case on Wednesday, online records show. Other bail conditions agreed upon in the Kenai case are that Hancock will be on an ankle monitor, and that restricted geographical zones will be set up to keep him from running into his alleged victim, who Hancock’s defense attorney, Bill Taylor, said has moved back to the area after living out of state.
Hancock’s release is temporary so that he can get his affairs in order before returning to jail, as he has change of plea hearings set for Aug. 30 in Kenai and for Sept. 9 in Anchorage. His brother, who is up temporarily from the Lower 48, was approved at the Aug. 10 bail hearing as a third-party custodian.
Reach Megan Pacer at megan.pacer@peninsulaclarion.com.
