Three girls abused; one man to prison

BY TODD L. DISHER
Frontiersman
Published on Saturday, September 5, 2009 8:16 PM AKDT

PALMER — A Wasilla man was convicted Friday of sexually abusing three children.

The jury found Mark Anderson, 61, guilty on 10 of 11 counts of sexual abuse of a minor in the second degree.

The pre-teen girls were abused over a 16-month period in 2006 and 2007.

During the trial, the jury heard that the incidents started when Anderson was working at car dealership in Wasilla. He became friends with a female co-worker who had a 6-year-old daughter. He would go over to their house where the girl would play with Anderson and sit on his lap.

The girl would later accuse Anderson of touching her inappropriately, describing it first to a teacher and then to a police investigator.

Anderson was a frequent visitor to a house in Big Lake of a single dad with two young girls. Over the course of the next six months, Anderson played with the girls both at their house and his.

In August of 2007, the younger sister told her day-care provider that Anderson was touching her and making her touch him. The day-care provider asked the older sister about this, and she said it was happening to her too.

Each child gave a detailed description of what happened, Assistant District Attorney Rachel Gernat said. The details have changed very little in the years since, and the one girl has never met the two sisters, she said.

Defense attorney Bill English said the adults involved in the case have construed every fact and every nuance against Anderson. The investigator is a professional at trapping people accused of sexual abuse, he said, and this whole case started from a leading question.

“Just as you find the source of the Mississippi River to be just a little trickle, the trigger of this incident was the teacher asking (the first girl) ‘Tell me who touched you inappropriately, and I will fix your problems,’” English said.

 “The fact that the genesis of all the indictments was a leading question taints all the indictments,” English said.

In her closing argument, Gernat dismissed the argument that any sexual contact was incidental from the playing Anderson often did with the three girls. One time is an accident, she said, multiple times is not.

“Grown men do not accidentally touch multiple girls on multiple occasions,” Gernat said.

He is scheduled to be sentenced Dec. 4.

Contact Todd L. Disher at todd.disher@frontiersman.com or 352-2252.

 

Comments

17 comment(s)

    there wrote on Sep 27, 2009 11:05 AM:

    " that church sat theer in support of both andersons (who lied) and cast their dirty looks towards the family shame on those who can't believe the young and innocent!!!! "

    Pastor Bracken wrote on Sep 16, 2009 11:56 AM:

    " Child abuse is a horrific sin which is not endorsed by Kings Chapel. Our Children's ministry staff has won national awards and has the highest level of accountability, checks and balances to ensure the safety of the children and workers.

    Jesus was with sinners of all kinds and was persecuted for it and I think He still is. He even allowed for a prostitute to wash His feet. We welcome all who come to KC with very clear limitations.

    May the Lord Jesus heal all the families involved and stop abuse in Alaska. "

    Get the Facts wrote on Sep 15, 2009 11:49 PM:

    " From what I understand, Mr Anderson actually did not attend a church while these things were happening. And for Mandi's (above) information, I am to understand that churches now days have FBI backround checks for all children and youth workers and go to great lengths to protect children from such things. Instead of blindly slandering any pastor you should get all your facts straight. Furthermore, God is on the throne and He is the Great Judge over all of us. God help heal those precious little girls, their families, and all those who have been through such atrocities. "

    WASILLA RESIDENT wrote on Sep 14, 2009 2:50 PM:

    " MR ANDERSON iFEEL BY THE LAW YOU HAVE DONE SOMETHING THAT IS NOT RIGHT AND YOU NEED TO GO TO JAIL i SAY YOU WANT TO HURT LITTLE GIRLS WHO CAN'T TAKE CARE OF THEMSELVES THEN, WHAT IS YOUR CHURCH SAYING TO THIS ARE THEY FOR WHAT YOU ARE DOING, IF YES? THEN HOW MANY OTHER ARE THEY HOLDING IN THAT PLACE AND NOT TELLING THE MEMBERS, AND WHO DO THEY HAVE TEACHING THE CHILDREN IN THE CHURCH.OTHER SEX OFFENDERS, OR SICK PERVERTS, i WILL BE PRAYING FOR THE GIRLS, NO 1IS STILL NO! "

    alaskan resident wrote on Sep 13, 2009 11:56 PM:

    " I am sickened that someone would dare to say that these girls are lying and that the accusations are false and that Mark anderson is some outstanding member of our society. They thought Ted Bundy was also and he was a monster. Even Ted Bundy said kill me there is no cure for this sickness. I wish the death penalty was in this state. I think that anyone that stands up for a man that is this evil is evil themselves and that they are just as sick as he is. "

    mandi wrote on Sep 13, 2009 11:53 PM:

    " this is a disapointment to the church, I feel that the pastor of kings chapel sure have warned the parents that have children in that church of this kind of thing going on, and not take up for this kind of wrong, this man has taking advantage of children, and he has a wife, they both together has no moral respect for babies, I cannot see any parent alowing thier children to fellowship with a church like this, and how can the pastor go for this, this man needs to go to jail for hurting little girls. th5tf "

    life long valley girl wrote on Sep 11, 2009 9:56 PM:

    " OMG...is there any question here?? kill that sick pervert!!! don't waste my tax dollars feeding him...COME ON ALASKA...WHY DO WE TOLERATE THIS?????? "

    Disgusted wrote on Sep 9, 2009 10:02 AM:

    " I think that any man/woman convicted of ANY kind of sexual abuse should get the death penalty. There is no cure for them. I also think that these ignorant people who stand behind these sex offenders are no better, they should go to prison two. If they stand behind abuse, whats going through there mind as well? "

    Just think wrote on Sep 8, 2009 3:18 PM:

    " God is still on the throne and still loves and forgives, perhaps Mr. Anderson has done wrong, but God knows his heart, and God is still in control. "

    its done wrote on Sep 8, 2009 9:06 AM:

    " ive known the girls all their lives and they DID NOT LIE.. people should be ashamed of standing behind a man after a court of their peers found him guilty, you obviously think that rules only apply to people you don't know thank god for the justice system "

    Missing information wrote on Sep 7, 2009 6:32 PM:

    " I've known Mr. Anderson my whole life. Obviously someone is withholding information and the court did not get all the facts. "

    Alaskan Rednek wrote on Sep 7, 2009 6:28 AM:

    " People like that dont have a place in society. I only know of 1 way to fix that. But if they wont do that I hope is cell mate is large and lonely. "

    Oops wrote on Sep 6, 2009 6:59 PM:

    " It's a perversion, a mental state that can't be cured. Life that's what these girls will have of the memory of this pervert! He shouldn't be out in society. "

    palmer res. wrote on Sep 6, 2009 2:45 PM:

    " ya putting people like him(who are not going to change) in prison is a waste of tax payers money, I think North America needs to tighten up their laws. No throwing the keys at criminals anymore, If they can't interact in a normal society, be gone with them all!!! Now a days seems to be more bad people in the world then the good!! "

    CLB wrote on Sep 6, 2009 9:11 AM:

    " Death penalty for all sex crimes "

    Good wrote on Sep 6, 2009 1:01 AM:

    " I wish for a lengthy stay. The defense attorney's argurments are ridiculous, and he should be ashamed of claiming them. "

    Alaskan Daddy wrote on Sep 5, 2009 11:00 PM:

    " He needs to die. Perfect example of why the death penalty should be legal in Alaska. "

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