Jury finds Wasilla man guilty of raping, cutting and strangling woman

PALMER — A 22-year-old Wasilla man faces 40-99 years in prison following his conviction by a local jury of sexually assaulting his girlfriend at knifepoint while their young children were in the room.

It took a jury about 4 1/2 hours to find Aric Tolen found guilty in Palmer Court Wednesday of first-degree sexual assault and two counts each of second-degree assault and third-degree assault, said Rachel Gernat, the assistant district attorney who prosecuted Tolen. The conviction is the result of a Jan. 2 incident where Tolen’s live-in girlfriend called 911 from a neighbor’s place in Wasilla. She reported Tolen assaulted her with a knife, and a subsequent investigation revealed an intoxicated Tolen held the woman at knifepoint and sexually assaulted her in the presence of her children. He also cut her several times with the knife, accused her of cheating on him and strangled her until she lost consciousness.

Tolen is the father of the two children, a toddler and an infant, Gernat said.

“It was a [forcible] rape case and she had serious injuries,” Gernat said of the victim, whose testimony against her former boyfriend was key to securing a conviction. Her testimony “speaks to her strength and her credibility. So many victims don’t want to [testify] and she did. It takes strength to do that.”

She said the circumstantial evidence in the case supported the victim’s testimony. “Her testimony was one of the most important parts of the trial. Without here we have no case.”

During the assault, which lasted about four hours, Tolen accused his victim of cheating on him and cut her legs with the knife, Gernat said. He also held the knife to her neck and threatened to kill her.

“She testified he talked about wanting to kill her,” Gernat said.

While Wednesday’s verdict is brings a conclusion to that Jan 2 incident, many other women don’t report when they are victims of domestic abuse or violence, Gernat said.

“Domestic sexual assaults are frequent and are underreported,” she said. “Rape is an act of violence.”

Sentencing for Tolen has been scheduled for Jan. 18, 2008, where he faces 40-99 years in prison.

Contact Greg Johnson at 352-2268 or greg.johnson@frontiersman.com.