Affidavit: Palmer man admits molesting girl in hot tub

PALMER — Police arrested a Palmer man Friday, charging him with sexually abusing a 10-year-old girl.

Justin Van Dyke, 32, was charged with six counts of sexual abuse of a minor and jailed at the Mat-Su Pre-Trial Facility where jail records late Monday showed he was still incarcerated.

According to an affidavit Investigator Luis Nieves filed with the case, the girl told troopers on Thursday that Van Dyke had molested her about 14 or 15 times while they were bathing together in a hot tub. Van Dyke would have the girl sit on his lap. She also said she’d been molested while she was lying undressed in bed.

In an interview Van Dyke gave to troopers Friday, Van Dyke corroborated the girl’s story, saying the incidents happened about three or four years ago while the two were bathing, the affidavit says. He also admitted to the bedroom incidents.

Van Dyke’s story only differed from the girl’s, according to Nieves’ affidavit, in the number of times he admitted to molesting her. He put the total at 10.

Court records show his bail was set at $25,000 and he will need to find a third party to watch over him before he can be released.

—Andrew Wellner