A 63-year-old Juneau man was sentenced Thursday to serve 18 years in prison, with 22 more years suspended, following his guilty plea to a felony charge involving the sexual abuse of a girl who says she was between 9 and 11 years old when the assaults happened in 2019 and 2020, according to the Alaska Department of Law.

Craig Foster was indicted by a Juneau grand jury on six felony charges after his arrest on April 26, 2022. He pleaded guilty to and was sentenced for second-degree sexual abuse of a minor, according to a press release from the Department of Law. The victim was a family member.

“Foster’s actions against the victim were discovered when she wrote an iPhone note to her mother when she was 13-years-old describing sexual abuse that occurred when she was 9-11 years old,” according to the release.

In a plea agreement, Foster admitted three aggravating factors: his behavior was among the most serious contemplated under the statute; he has engaged in the same or other conduct punishable as a sexual offense involving the same or another victim; and he was 10 or more years older than the victim.

Foster will be placed on probation for 10 years upon his release, with conditions including not having contact with minors and participating in sex offender treatment. He will also have to register as a sex offender during his probation and for 15 years following his probationary period.

The press release cites impact statements from the victim and her mother during the sentencing in in Juneau Superior Court, as well as comments by Foster, Assistant Attorney General Bailey Woolfstead and Judge Mari Carpeneti.

The victim stated she has recovered from the trauma and is now thriving in school, according to the release.

“For three constant years I had thought that this was normal, that this was all my fault,” she stated. “Through the daily panic attacks in the shower and the thoughts of ending my life at just 9 years old. I wish I could tell my 9-year-old self how proud I am of her and that there are amazing people in her life that will fight for her, no matter the circumstance. It took me a really long time to tell my parents, I was 13 at the peak of the lowest time in my life where I finally mustered up the courage to tell my parents and go to the police station where I was greeted with nothing but respect and love. I just wanted to say thank you to those who have helped me come this far. And instead of dwelling, I want to talk about what I have accomplished since then.”

Foster, in his statement to the court, noted “I spent 20 years in the Navy trying to do something for my country and now suddenly I’m called a monster and I’m not a monster.” Foster went on to blame the victim’s parents, stating “Why would I suddenly become this monster and where were the parents who didn’t see that?”

Carpeneti stated that Foster has done commendable things in his life, but now they “live besides this monstrous act,” according to the release. She noted that while Foster disagreed with his family’s characterization of him as a monster, “what they call him isn’t as important as what we call these acts, and these are monstrous acts that betrayed the love and trust” that existed within this family.

• Contact Mark Sabbatini at mark.sabbatini@juneauempire.com or (907) 957-2306.