A Juneau man has been sentenced to 7½ years in prison for sexually abusing a 14-year-old family member in his home in November of 2019, according to a statement issued Wednesday by the Alaska Department of Law.

Randy Willard, 39, also received 16½ years of suspended jail time, will be on supervised probation for 10 years following his release and will have to register as a sex offender for life, according to the statement. He was sentenced Friday by Juneau Superior Court Judge Amy Mead.

An investigation by the Juneau Police Department of Willard began in March of 2020 due to a complaint about him having sexual contact with the teenager and sending sexually explicit videos to her, according to a JPD statement issued earlier this year.

“During the investigation, Detectives learned that in November of 2019, Willard sent multiple sexually explicit videos and photos of himself, to the 15-year-old female,” the JPD statement notes. “The investigation also showed that during the early morning hours of 11/24/2019, Willard was at a residence with the 15-year-old female, sat on the couch next to her, and engaged in sexual contact with the female while she was pretending to be asleep.”

The statement issued Wednesday by the Department of Law states “Willard denied the conduct, as well as the allegations that he sent other family members under the age of 18 inappropriate images.”

A grand jury on Jan. 21, 2021, indicted Willard on charges of second-degree sexual abuse of a minor (a class B felony), third-degree sexual abuse of a minor (a class C felony) and distributing indecent materials to minors (a class C felony). He was found guilty at trial of all three charges on Feb. 20 of this year.

The maximum sentence for a class B felony in Alaska is generally 10 years for a first-time offender, while the maximum sentence for a class C felony is five years.

“In sentencing Willard, Judge Mead found that while Willard has some prospects for rehabilitation, those prospects are guarded and that he still did not seem to recognize his role in committing these offenses against a child,” the statement issued Wednesday notes. “Judge Mead also addressed the victim, telling her that she was impressed with her intelligence and bravery.”

A 2017 profile of Willard by the Juneau Empire, headlined “From homeless to MMA coach: How Randy Willard fought his way off the streets,” states he went through “an approximately seven-year period of drunkenness, deceitfulness and destitution” after being jailed for trying to elude a police officer who caught him speeding. He subsequently became the manager of Counterstrike MMA, training fighters for competition.

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