Change to definition of sexual assault sought by Juneau lawmaker after partial acquittal of chiropractor at trial
- Mark Sabbatini
- 5 hours ago
- 3 min read
Proposal among 26 bills prefiled Friday by legislators; Rep. Sara Hannan says she’s seeking to close a loophole in state law after dismissal of some charges against Jeffrey Fultz last year
By Mark Sabbatini
Juneau Independent
The acquittal of a Juneau chiropractor on some sexual assault charges in a high-profile trial last year is prompting a local state legislator to propose changes she says will close a loophole regarding what is considered assault by a health care worker.
House Bill 242 by Rep. Sara Hannan, D-Juneau, is one of 26 prefiled bills published Friday ahead of the Alaska Legislature’s session that begins next Tuesday, Jan. 20. She is also sponsoring HB 250, which would ban police officers from wearing masks or disguises intended to conceal their identity, with exceptions for health purposes and undercover assignments.
The two other members of Juneau’s delegation, Sen. Jesse Kiehl and Rep. Andi Story, did not introduce any of the bills published Friday.
Hannan, in an interview Monday, said the sexual assault bill was introduced because of the outcome of the trial of Jeffrey Fultz, accused by a dozen female patients of sexual assault while providing treatment to them between 2014 to 2020. A jury last September acquitted him of two sexual assault charges and was unable to reach a verdict on 12 additional charges. The judge also declared a mistrial on two additional charges before the jury began deliberations.
Prosecutors are retrying Fultz on the unresolved charges, with a status hearing on the case scheduled Feb. 11.
Hannan said a change to the definition of sexual assault enacted by state lawmakers four years ago has resulted in presumably unintended consequences.
"We created a loophole in medical providers," she said. "So someone who is being assaulted by a medical provider, if they know at the time of the assault that that is sexual assault and don't stop it, then it can't be prosecuted as a sexual assault."
"This is, I believe, an overt, unintentional consequence that we didn't intend, but that's the result and I think we'll see very unified support to close that loophole," she added.
Among the declared intentions of the bill passed in 2022 was altering the definition of consent so that "force or the threat of force" was no longer a required element of proof. Most of the alleged victims in the Fultz trial stated force was not involved in the assaults.
An acquittal order by Judge Larry Woolford on one of the charges states the reason is because the woman making the accusation knew the contact was “sexual and that it was not part of legitimate medical treatment," KTOO reported in October. The story also notes "the legal definition of sexual assault by a medical provider requires that the alleged victim isn’t aware of sexual contact happening at the moment."
The text of HB 242 contains relatively minor shifts in wording to existing law, which Hannan said are what attorneys have stated will achieve the changes that will prevent a recurrence of the dismissals that occurred in the Fultz trial.
She acknowledged there is likely to be more controversy and debate about her mask ban bill for police, which mirrors similar proposals by other states and cities. The proposals are being introduced due to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement deployments and raids across the country, often with agents using unmarked vehicles and concealing their identities behind masks.
Hannan said the bill isn’t in response to recent raids, telling the Alaska Beacon she’s been hearing concerns from constituents during the past year — which coincides with when President Donald Trump began his second term. She said Monday she’s not aware of any Juneau police officers wearing masks to disguise their identities, but there have been ICE-related immigration raids in Alaska during the past year.
Among the other prefiled bills are:
• HB 237 by Rep. Jubilee Underwood, R-Wasilla, which would require "evidence-based mathematics instruction," a policy enacted in multiple other states and which she says is similar in intent to the Alaska Reads Act.
• HB 238 by Rep. Andrew Gray, D-Anchorage, expanding the statewide immunization program to include recommendations by the American Academy of Pediatrics, due to the Trump administration scaling back its official list of recommended vaccinations.
• HB 240 by Rep. David Nelson, R-Anchorage, requiring school districts to enact policies to combat digital harassment via AI-generated images or audio involving students.
• SB 204 by Sen. Mike Cronk, R-Tok, allowing school board members to work as substitute teachers, and banning anyone convicted of a state or federal felony from serving as a school board member.
• Contact Mark Sabbatini at editor@juneauindependent.com or (907) 957-2306.
