Anchorage man arrested in Valley child abuse case

PALMER -- An Anchorage man was arraigned in Palmer District Court Friday on four charges of child sexual abuse.

According to the Alaska State Troopers, David C. Haggith, 44, was arrested on Thursday in Anchorage and charged with two counts of first-degree sexual abuse of a minor and two counts of third-degree sexual abuse of a minor.

Haggith's arrest reportedly came as the result of an investigation by the Mat-Su Child Abuse Investigations Unit that was prompted by an August report to troopers of an incident that occurred in the Big Lake area during the 2002 July 4th weekend. According to investigators, Haggith had sexual contact with a juvenile girl on two occasions over that weekend. Haggith was said to be a friend of the child's family and was teaching her to

water-ski.

In September, troopers received another report about incidents that occurred between Haggith and a juvenile girl at Big Lake during the summer of 1994. Haggith reportedly had sexual contact with the girl numerous times at different locations in the Big Lake area during the summer of 1994, when the child was about nine years old. Allegedly, Haggith was friends with that child's family as well, and had also spent time teaching her to water-ski.

First-degree sexual abuse of a minor is an unclassified sexual offense punishable by a maximum of 30 years in prison for a first conviction and a maximum fine of $75,000.

Third-degree sexual abuse of a minor is a Class C felony, punishable by up to five years in jail for a first conviction, and a fine of $50,000.

Haggith remained in custody at Mat-Su Pre-Trial Facility on Friday in lieu of $20,000 cash bail and a court-appointed, third-party custodian.