Thursday, August 13, 2009

Ranger Dorian Curry Arrested for Sexual Assault


Both victims in a pair of Glacier Bay National Park sexual assault cases were coworkers with their alleged attacker and had both passed out drunk before being violated, according to court documents fleshing out the charges.

Seasonal law enforcement ranger Dorian B. Curry, 31, was arrested Monday by the Alaska State Troopers on two felony counts of sexual assault. The District Attorney's office is expected to present the case to a grand jury on Friday. The state alleges Curry had sex with the two women on separate occasions near Gustavus.

One victim told investigators that she had drank alcohol on July 4 until she blacked out, according to court documents. She told investigators that she woke up on the floor next to Curry on July 5 and said her groin hurt like she had had "rough sex."

Curry admitted to her that they had sex, and obtained a morning after pill for her, according to court documents. The victim told investigators she was not aware that Curry was having sex with her after she passed out.

Court documents allege that another incident occurred in 2008 under similar circumstances. Two witnesses said they watched Curry carry a passed out woman into his bedroom.

The National Park Service contacted the state troopers in mid-July after conducting an internal investigation into the sexual assault of the two park employees.

"Once it became apparent that there was some kind of potential illegal behavior actually taking place, that's when they contacted us," state trooper spokeswoman Megan Peters said.

Investigators looked into the 2008 case after the July case came to light. That victim alleged Curry had intercourse with her while she was passed out after a party at the park lodge in Bartlett Cove on Sept. 1, 2008. She said she went to Curry's house with several other park employees and woke up the next day in bed with Curry with no pants or underwear on and a used condom on the bed, according to court documents. She confronted Curry, who denied having sex with her.

Troopers interviewed the defendant's former roommate, who said he witnessed Curry pick up the victim while she was passed out and take her into his bedroom, according to court documents. A second witness said the victim had been drinking a lot and passed out on the floor before Curry picked her up and dragged her into his room to have sex with her.

Curry later admitted to troopers that he had sex with both alleged victims, according to court documents.

As the investigation proceeded, Curry was put on administrative leave with the park service and his law enforcement commission was suspended, according to a press release. The federal agency is taking steps to terminate his employment.

A seasonal law enforcement ranger has a variety of duties at Glacier Bay National Park, from monitoring possible fishing violations to backcountry patrols. Seasonal rangers are required to go through a special National Park Service law enforcement academy.

Curry is a graduate of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in New London, Conn.

This is not the first law enforcement official in Alaska to be arrested this summer on charges of sexual assault. Anchorage Police Department officer Anthony Rollins was arrested last month for allegedly sexually assaulting six women over the past three years.

"In the public's eye (law enforcement officials) are certainly held to a higher standard and when something like this does happen it seems to catch everyone's attention and they are appalled by it, rightfully so," Peters said.

Peters stressed that at this point Curry has been accused of committing sexual assault.

"Whether or not he is found guilty is to be determined," she said.

The felony charges are each punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a $100,000 fine. Curry, who has been living in Washington when not working in Alaska, is being held in the Lemon Creek Correctional Center on $20,000 bail.

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