Jury convicts child sex abuser

PALMER — A man arrested in May 2011 on years-old sexual abuse allegations was found guilty at trial this week.

Gary Lorusso — now 55, according to court documents — was accused in 2009 of sexually abusing his babysitter when the girl was under the age of 16. Although the girl reported the abuse in 2009, the abuse was said to have occurred in 2003. Lorusso was charged two years later and handed himself in the day after Alaska State Troopers made the decision to pursue a criminal case.

The case went to trial, ending on Monday with a guilty verdict on the sexual abuse charge. The jury found Lorusso innocent on a charge of providing alcohol to a minor. He is set to receive his sentence June 22.