A former Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson soldier accused of attacking multiple women and sexually assaulting some of them in 2013 pleaded guilty Monday to charges related to the crimes.
Two sexual assault victims reported the attacks to police in mid-July 2013. The victims described the suspect very similarly, an affidavit from Anchorage police officer John Vandervalk stated. Both victims said the suspect followed them in the Mountain View area for a short time before approaching and pointing a gun at them. In both cases, the suspect left behind DNA evidence that was collected and analyzed at the Scientific Crime Detection Laboratory.
With a composite sketch created by each victim’s description, police had an idea of the suspect’s appearance. On July 20, a few days after the first two attacks, a patrol officer spotted a man matching the suspect’s description following a woman in Mountain View. When the suspect, identified as 27-year-old Tony Bullock, noticed the officer, he “looked away and lit a cigarette,” Vandervalk explained.
The officer stopped to talk to Bullock, who eventually agreed to be photographed, including a sleeve tattoo on his right arm that was consistent with the victims’ descriptions, according to Vandervalk.
On Aug. 11, a woman called 911 to report a man had tried to sexually assault her, Vandervalk stated. She told police the man followed her and then used physical violence to get her to cooperate, but she escaped while he was busy opening a condom. The victim gave police his license plate number, which was registered to Bullock.
Vandervalk noted all three victims were of similar build and appearance, although the last victim was older than the other victims, who were teenagers.
Bullock was brought in for questioning and waived his rights during the interview. He denied being involved in any of the crimes, but admitted to meeting one of the victims on the street, Vandervalk said. During the interview, Bullock drank from a cup, which he left behind and which was collected for DNA evidence.
Vandervalk said in his affidavit that the DNA from the cup matched the DNA samples collected from the first two victims.
When Bullock was first arrested, he was charged for each separate act he forced on his victims, as well as multiple counts of assault. He pleaded guilty Monday to two consolidated counts of first-degree sexual assault for the incidents involving the first two victims, as well as a single count of fourth-degree assault.
A statement from Anchorage District Attorney Clint Campion said Bullock has been in custody since his initial arrest and is not eligible for bail while waiting for his sentencing. Superior Court Judge Michael Wolverton is scheduled to sentence Bullock on Dec. 16. Campion said Bullock faces a presumptive range of 27 to 70 years in prison, but the maximum penalty of up to 99 years in prison for the sexual assaults and an additional year for the assault is possible and based on the judge’s discretion.
Bullock was a specialist with the U.S. Army, stationed at Fort Richardson for his first duty assignment beginning in March 2012, Alaska Public Media reports.
