Bethel Superior Court Judge Nathaniel Peters sentenced 48-year-old Paul James Jr., of Alakanuk, to serve 104.5 years of incarceration after being convicted of two counts of Sexual Assault in the First Degree, one count of Incest, one count of Assault in the Second Degree, four counts of Furnishing Alcohol to Minors in a Local Option Community while being a sex offender, and one count of Manufacturing Alcohol in a Local Option Community. Judge Peters sentenced James to a composite sentence of 116.5 years with 12 years suspended.
James was convicted of these crimes after a three-week jury trial in Bethel from October through November 2023. James’s convictions stem from an incident where James provided four minors with alcohol at a party at his home on Feb. 14, 2019. After everyone else left the house, James sexually assaulted, beat, bit, and strangled the victim, who was a female family member of his.
Before trial, Judge Peters heard from five of James’s prior victims, including several who were family members of his. These victims testified about James’s sexually assaultive and physically assaultive behavior toward them that spanned the last two decades. Based on the court’s ruling, two witnesses testified at trial about what James did to them.
The victim asked the prosecutor to relay to the court her genuine fear of the defendant based on his threats to kill her and other family members during the sexual assault. At the sentencing hearing, Assistant Attorney General Bailey Woolfstead asked the court to consider the seriousness and violence involved in the sexual assault in this case and to listen to the voices of this victim and the five other victims he heard from throughout the case.
Ms. Woolfstead requested that Judge Peters make a finding that James is a “worst offender” and sentenced James to a composite sentence of 120 years to serve. Ms. Woolfstead argued that James should be considered the worst offender because “James presents a continuing and clear danger to his family, his community, and the women in the Yukon Kuskokwim Delta.
James has consistently physically and sexually assaulted women in his family and community, subjecting them to not only the horrors of rape but also strangulation, threats to kill them and their families, and threats to rape and kill other family members for 15 years from 2005 to 2019, a pattern that continued through the present offense.
James has demonstrated to this court, time and time again, that he lacks prospects for rehabilitation and has no interest in engaging in rehabilitation even when ordered to do so by this court.”
James’s lawyer, Julia Metzger, provided the court with background information on James’s life and childhood. In her argument to the court, she recognized the seriousness of James’s offenses but argued that the court’s sentencing goals could be satisfied with a 55-year sentence.
Judge Peters found that six aggravating factors applied to the case, including:
- The conduct constituting the offense was among the most severe conduct included in the definition of the offense for the sexual assault, Incest, and physical assault charges
- The offense was sexual, and James had engaged in other sexually assaultive behavior in his past
- James had three or more prior felony convictions
- James has a criminal history, including aggravated assaultive behavior and repeated instances of assaultive behavior
- James has a criminal history of violating similar laws to those he violated in this case
- James’s criminal history includes convictions for five or more misdemeanor offenses. Judge Peters also found that James was a “worst offender” under the law and noted that in 10 years on the bench, he had only made that finding two or three times previously.
In handing down the sentence, Judge Peters stated, “When Mr. James is drinking, no female around him is safe from his behavior, aggression, and violence.” Judge Peters recognized James’s prior failures on probation and found that James’s prospects for rehabilitation were poor. Judge Peters recognized the impact the sexual assault had on the victim in this case and articulated that the more than 100-year sentence might provide the victim, as well as the five prior victims, closure and peace of mind.
