A man charged with raping a woman back in July of 2011 has been convicted of first-degree sexual assault.
A jury of eight men and six women brought back a guilty verdict against 55-year-old Dwight O’Connor Friday. O’Connor was found not guilty of two other counts of sexual assault relating to the same incident at this trial last year. The jury couldn’t agree on the third count, so prosecutors called for a retrial.
The victim says she was hitchhiking when O’Connor picked her up and took her back to his work trailer and violently raped her. O’Connor insisted throughout his defense that the encounter was consensual.
O’Connor worked with the Anchorage Public Safety Advisory Commission for more than 10 years before the allegations were brought up against him.
His sentence hearing is scheduled for June. The sentence for first-degree sexual assault – an unclassified felony – can include imprisonment for up to 99 years.