A 38-year-old Juneau man was sentenced to serve eight years in prison for an alcohol-fueled domestic violence sexual assault at his home nearly a year ago.
Juneau Superior Court Judge Louis Menendez imposed the sentence, 11 years with three suspended, plus four years of probation, for Eric James Beers during a hearing Wednesday.
Assistant District Attorney Angie Kemp requested 11 years to serve, citing the seriousness of the attack and the enormous impact it continues to have on the victim. The Empire is not disclosing the nature of the relationship between Beers and the victim, and does not publish the names victims of sexual assault or abuse.
Beers has been behind bars since his Oct. 19 arrest. Prosecutors said previously that Beers held the victim down and forcibly raped her. Juneau police responded to the house after two or three 911 calls that were disconnected and found Beers at the home without clothes on.
Assistant Public Defender Timothy Ayer said his client pled guilty to having non-consensual sexual contact with the woman, but Ayer disputed whether non-consensual sexual intercourse took place. He requested a composite sentence of five years to serve for the two counts Beers pleaded guilty to: second-degree sexual assault for having sexual contact without consent and third-degree sexual assault for causing fear of injury with a weapon.
Kemp said Beers used a knife to try to pick a lock to a room in the house where the victim was hiding and called 911 from. Ayer specified the knife was not used in the attack.
Beers does not have any prior felony convictions. He did not speak when given the chance to address the judge.
The victim cried at times during the hearing. She sat in the courtroom alongside a legal advocate from Juneau’s women’s shelter, AWARE, short for Aiding Women in Abuse and Rape Emergencies. Kemp read aloud a letter the victim wrote to the judge.
Judge Menendez called Beers a “damaged individual with an alcohol problem” who needed to be isolated from the public.
“You may want to listen to that 911 call again by yourself,” Menendez said, referring to the calls that were played in court during the sentencing hearing wherein the victim is heard whimpering and unable to tell 911 dispatchers where she is. “She’s beside herself because of what you did to her.”
He emphasized that Beers physically and sexually assaulted the woman but also belittled her.
“It’s condemnable,” he said.
• Contact reporter Emily Russo Miller at 523-2263 or at emily.miller@juneauempire.com.
Editor’s Note: A paragraph in this article has been changed to better clarify the defense attorney’s argument in court.
