A Juneau man facing 40 counts that include sexual abuse of a minor, possession of child pornography and viewing of indecent material pleaded not guilty in court Wednesday.
Ty Alexander Grussendorf previously faced seven counts involving the alleged sexual abuse of a minor — when he was 18 and she was younger than 13 — when he was initially charged in 2015. That case was dismissed in July because inadmissible hearsay evidence was introduced that could have influenced the decision to indict Grussendorf.
Grussendorf, who is now 22, then was re-indicted on Feb. 1 by a Juneau grand jury on the seven counts that he faced in 2015: six counts of sexual abuse of a minor in the first degree and one count of attempted sexual abuse of a minor in the first degree. He also was charged with three counts of sexual abuse of a minor in the second degree for a different victim, in the same age range as the first victim. (The Empire is not giving the exact ages of either alleged victim to avoid possible identification of a sex abuse victim.)
Grussendorf additionally faces five counts of possession of child pornography and 25 counts of felony indecent viewing of photography. All of those counts relate to actions that allegedly took place when Grussendorf was 18 and involve four other alleged victims.
Grussendorf appeared in Juneau Superior Court Wednesday and pleaded not guilty to all charges; his attorney, John Cashion, appeared telephonically.
Assistant District Attorney Amy Paige asked Judge Philip Pallenberg for a no-contact order for all the alleged victims, as well as no contact with any girls younger than 18 with the exception of immediate family.
Paige asked for a clarification of incidental contact and told Pallenberg she had received information that Grussendorf had been attending girls’ basketball games.
Pallenberg responded that it should be clear that going to sports activities organized for underage females was not incidental contact, adding that his order prohibits Grussendorf from attending such events.
A tentative trial date was set for Oct. 30, with a two-week estimate. Grussendorf is scheduled to be in court again on March 30.
Grussendorf was flanked by his parents during his court appearance; his father, a legislative staffer, was the focus of an investigation last fall for potentially unethical attempts to lobby for amendments to sex crime provisions in SB 91.
Tim Grussendorf, while an employee of Sen. Lyman Hoffman, D-Bethel, and the Senate Finance Committee, met with multiple legislators last year, according to a report by KTUU. Tim Grussendorf unsuccessfully lobbied to change the age of offenders from 16 or older to 19 or older, with the victim age being lowered to younger than 12 instead of 13.
• Contact reporter Liz Kellar at 523-2246 or liz.kellar@juneauempire.com.
