This story describes an alleged sexual assault and serious injuries resulting from it.
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The sexual assault case was one of the most horrendous that two Alaska Superior Court judges said they had encountered in their long careers on the bench. The victim suffered internal injuries that required surgery and the use of a bag for her digestive system.
“Even somebody like me, who does nothing but this work for so long, still has their sensibility shocked,” Judge Philip Volland said at an early bail hearing, warning that he worried the suspect might try to threaten the woman. “The facts of this case tell me there is a very, very real risk of intimidation of the victim. If she wasn’t afraid then, she should be afraid now.”
Detectives had interviewed the alleged victim, executed search warrants and, two weeks after the reported incident, arrested a suspect: then-38-year-old Lafi “Beago” Faualo, who pleaded not guilty to first-degree sexual assault.
That was a decade ago. The case has still not gone to trial.
Over the years, the state assigned the case to four different judges, including Volland, who between them agreed to delay the trial more than 70 times — usually at the request of the defense attorney. Such delays and judges’ acquiescence have become routine in Alaska, robbing victims of timely justice and sometimes eroding the prosecution’s ability to mount an effective case using eyewitness testimony.
A spokesperson for the court system said the state is taking steps to reduce the length of time it takes to resolve Alaska criminal cases, including providing new training for judges and issuing orders to limit delays.
In the neverending case of sexual assault against Faualo, it all began with an alleged attack on July 16, 2014, in a van parked outside an Anchorage church. According to the charges, Faualo was in the back seat with the victim during the incident. Prosecutors additionally accused a second man, who was in the driver’s seat, of sexual assault in the case but later dropped the charges when the man pleaded guilty to coercion.
According to a charging document, Faualo denied sexually assaulting the woman but told Anchorage police he might have “accidentally” put his hand in her anus. The report quotes Faualo saying he might have used a bottle, but then saying it was definitely his hand. Faualo’s defense attorney has since said that Faualo’s co-defendant — who has since died — was the one who committed the assault and not Faualo.
ProPublica and the Anchorage Daily News obtained audio recordings and logs from each hearing or listened to it live. Nearly every time the defense attorney asked to delay the trial, a judge agreed. Not once did anyone in the courtroom ask what the victim wanted.
Faualo did not respond to an interview request and did not respond to emailed and hand-delivered questions.
Here’s how an Alaska sexual assault defendant has been able to prevent his case from going to trial since 2014. Prosecutors typically raised no objection to the delays. Unless noted, the judge granted the defense request for a delay in every instance.
- Sept. 25, 2014: Faualo has hired a private attorney, Rex Butler, who asks to delay the hearing.
- Oct. 7, 2014: Judge Philip Volland agrees to a delay because the defense attorney says he is still new to the case.
- Nov. 4, 2014: The judge grants the defense a three-week delay.
- Nov. 25, 2014: The judge delays the case as Faualo’s co-defendant considers a plea deal.
- Dec. 9, 2014: The defense attorney has a scheduling conflict, delaying the case.
- Jan. 13, 2015: Faualo files a motion to suppress evidence, delaying the case for months.
By 2015, the case has stretched past the state’s 120-day speedy-trial deadline. With no trial date in sight, Faualo asks to be released on bail, but the prosecutor claims he is a flight risk and a threat to the victim. The judge denies the bail request. The stakes are high. If convicted, Faualo faces a minimum of 25 years in prison for one count of sexual assault that resulted in serious injury, plus additional time for each of three additional counts of sexual assault.
- April 7, 2015: The defense asks for another delay.
- July 7, 2015: The judge grants a two-week delay, no questions asked.
- Aug. 18, 2015: Judge Michael Wolverton has been assigned to the case. He approves another delay.
- Aug. 26, 2015: The judge delays the trial to November 2015.
- Oct. 14, 2015: The judge agrees to another delay.
- Nov. 18, 2015: The judge delays the case another 35 days.
- Dec. 9, 2015: The first motion to suppress evidence fails, and the judge agrees to another delay.
- Jan. 20, 2016: The defense asks for a 30-day delay.
- Feb. 17, 2016: The state has offered a plea deal. The defense asks for a 30-day delay.
- Mar. 16, 2016: The defendant hasn’t decided on the plea deal and asks for another monthlong delay.
- April 20, 2016: The defense files another motion and asks for a 30-day delay.
- May 18, 2016: The judge agrees to delay the case for another month.
- June 15, 2016: With a new prosecutor assigned to the case, the defense again asks for a 30-day delay.
- July 13, 2016: The defendant is considering a plea deal that has been offered; the prosecutor asks for a two-week delay.
- July 27, 2016: The defendant hasn’t decided on whether to take the deal. The judge delays the trial by six weeks.
By now, the delays in the case mostly revolve around motions filed by the defense to throw out evidence collected by detectives early in the investigation. For example, Faualo’s lawyer says police served a search warrant too late at night — despite the warrant saying it could be served at any time. Meanwhile, Faualo’s co-defendant has agreed to a plea deal and is expected to testify against him at trial.
- Oct. 12, 2016: The defense asks for a one-month delay to continue negotiating a deal.
- Nov. 16, 2016: The judge agrees to the defendant’s request for another one-month delay.
- Dec. 14, 2016: The judge delays the case a month to make time for an evidentiary hearing.
- Feb. 8, 2017: The judge denies the defense’s motions to suppress evidence, and the defense asks for another three-week delay.
- Mar. 8, 2017: Faualo’s lawyer tells the judge he will “try to get” the case resolved soon but asks to delay the trial two months.
- May 17, 2017: The defense asks to delay the trial by one month to negotiate a deal.
- July 5, 2017: The defense asks for another one-month delay to continue negotiating.
- Aug. 2, 2017: The defense says they’re “very close” to making a plea deal and just need to delay proceedings by another two weeks.
- Aug. 16, 2017: Still negotiating, the defense says, asking for another two-week delay.
- Aug. 30, 2017: The defense says it needs a three-week delay to continue negotiating.
- Sept. 27, 2017: “Give us two more weeks,” the defense attorney asks. The judge OKs the delay.
- Oct. 11, 2017: The defense is “pretty close” to a plea deal but needs a two-week delay.
- Nov. 1, 2017: The defense asks for a one-month delay — long enough “so we don’t come back in two weeks and not have an answer.”
- Dec. 6, 2017: The defense asks for a one-month delay. The judge agrees without asking questions.
- Jan. 10, 2018: The defense says the two sides are “close to resolving” negotiations but need a two-week delay.
- Jan. 24, 2018: The judge delays the trial to allow more negotiations.
- Feb. 14, 2018: The defense asks for a new three-week delay without explanation. The judge agrees.
- Mar. 7, 2018: A new prosecutor takes over the case; the defense attorney asks for a two-week delay.
- Mar. 21, 2018: The defense asks for a one-week delay to negotiate.
- Mar. 28, 2018: The defense asks for two more weeks to negotiate.
- May 2, 2018: The defense attorney asks to delay the trial until October.
Prosecutors often say that trial delays make it harder to win a conviction because witnesses’ and police officers’ memories fade over time.
“Without question, the delay that occurs in cases going to trial makes it more difficult to keep track of where victims and witnesses are,” said Alaska Deputy Attorney General John Skidmore. “Police officers retire, move out of state. Lab analysts leave.”
“All of our cases depend upon us being able to present the evidence, and it’s just a fact of life that as time progresses, life moves on,” he said.
- Sept. 5, 2018: The defense asks for a one-month delay.
- Oct. 3, 2018: The defense asks for a two-week delay.
- Oct. 17, 2018: The judge agrees to delay the trial for two weeks for “attorney negotiations.”
- Nov. 28, 2018: Faualo has a new public defender, who asks to delay a week to prepare.
- Dec. 12, 2018: The public defender asks to delay again.
- Feb. 6, 2019: Butler, the private defense attorney, returns. He requests a delay until September.
Nothing happens in the case for seven months because Faualo’s attorney says he doesn’t have time for the trial. Faualo has now been in jail for five years, but the case appears to finally be destined for trial when a judge sets a new date for November 2019.
- Oct. 28, 2019: The defense attorney asks to delay the trial one month.
The 2019 trial date comes and goes, and Wolverton has now retired. At a spring hearing held before Judge Catherine Easter, the defense attorney says he’s once again considering a plea deal rather than a trial. The judge chuckles when she reads the case number, which shows it has been awaiting trial since 2014. When the defense asks for a delay, the prosecution objects.
Because of the age of the case, the judge sets a trial date. But soon after, the COVID-19 pandemic pauses jury trials across Alaska.
- May 11, 2020: COVID-related delay.
- June, 11, 2020: COVID-related delay.
- Oct. 27, 2020: COVID-related delay.
- Jan. 12, 2021: COVID-related delay.
- Mar. 9, 2021: COVID-related delay.
- June 17, 2021: COVID-related delay.
- Aug. 16, 2021: The defense asks for a delay to negotiate a deal. Judge Erin Marston, the latest judge assigned to the case, agrees.
- Oct. 26, 2021: A new prosecutor is assigned to the case and asks for a delay.
- Nov. 24, 2021: The defense requests a delay.
- Jan. 5, 2022: Jury trials have resumed across Alaska, but both sides in this case ask for a delay.
- May 9, 2022: The prosecutor says she’s ready for trial. The defense wants a delay.
- June 10, 2022: The defense asks for a 30-day delay to continue negotiations.
- July 14, 2022: The judge delays a hearing a week. The prosecutor doesn’t show up to the new hearing, so the judge delays again.
- July 26, 2022: The defense asks for a delay due to a scheduling conflict.
- Sept. 9, 2022: The prosecutor asks the judge to delay the case for “one last status hearing.”
The only witness to the alleged assault, other than the victim, has now died, the defense attorney says. Faualo has been in jail for eight years, and the judge agrees to release him on bail. His daughters will be asked to watch him and report to police if he violates conditions of his release.
- Nov. 28, 2022: “I know it’s an old case,” the defense attorney acknowledges while asking that the trial be delayed several more months.
- Feb. 1, 2023: The defense asks for a delay of 45 days.
- Mar. 15, 2023: The defense requests a delay. A new judge assigned to the case, Judge Andrew Peterson, agrees.
- April 26, 2023: The defense asks to delay a trial until 2024.
The talk of trial dates pauses for a few months as Faualo’s lawyer works, successfully, to loosen bail restrictions. At a bail hearing, a judge confuses Faualo with the codefendant who pleaded guilty to lesser charges. Misunderstanding the severity of the charges against Faualo, the judge agrees to ease up on his bail conditions. Faualo is now allowed to leave his house during the day.
- Nov. 15, 2023: The defense asks for a 30-day delay.
- Dec. 13, 2023: The prosecutor wants time to negotiate. She asks for a 30-60 day delay.
It’s now been nearly 10 years since the alleged sexual assault. Having failed to reach a plea agreement, the two sides say the earliest they can appear at trial is October 2024.
- Aug. 30, 2024: With the trial set for October, the defense asks for a 15-day delay.
- Sept. 25, 2024: The defense requests a 30-day delay.
- Oct. 30, 2024: The prosecutor is ready. But the trial is delayed again because Faualo’s lawyer had double-booked himself for two trials at the same time.
- Nov. 27, 2024: The prosecutor and defense are supposed to select a trial date, but the defense isn’t ready. The judge delays the case again.
The most recent hearing in this case was held on Dec. 16, 2024, when Judge Andrew Peterson set a trial date for June 2025, 10 years and 11 months after the alleged sexual assault took place.
