Appellate court says sentence is not excessive in Juneau kidnapping, sexual assault case

The Alaska Court of Appeals has upheld a sentence for a Juneau man convicted for abducting and sexually assaulting a 15-year old girl.

Christopher Allen Scholes was sentenced to 70-years in prison for the crime that occurred in December 2008. Thirty-years out of the composite sentence was suspended.

Scholes’ defense argued before the Court of Appeals that it was excessive. That was partly based on Scholes’ prospects for eventual rehabilitation and his failure to take medication for his bipolar disorder before the crime was committed.

Superior Court Judge Pallenberg said during a sentencing hearing that it was a “horrible, brutal, savage attack,” and the “circumstances (of the crime) don’t justify it or excuse it.”

The composite sentence was a bit more than what prosecutors wanted, but it had more suspended time.

The victim’s parents said it wasn’t harsh enough. Her father called it a “Twinkie Defense,” noting that thousands of people with bipolar disorder don’t go around kidnapping and assaulting girls.

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