How a community cares for its children says a great deal about the values of its residents.
Some in Juneau and Hoonah, including a member of the Alaska House of Representatives, are making us question their values.
Thomas Jack Jr. of Hoonah was convicted in 2010 for repeatedly molesting one of his foster daughters. He earned a prison sentence of 50 years.
Jack, despite admitting remorse in a letter to his victim, has since denied wrongdoing and is appealing his sentence.
Despite Jack’s guilt, proclaimed in a court of law, 15 people have stated their support for him. None have stated their support for the victim.
In 15 letters, they have written Jack’s judge, asking for leniency or for Jack to be returned to Hoonah, his hometown.
The letter-writers include a teacher, a minister, a tribal leader, and Rep. Cathy Muñoz, R-Juneau. None of the writers mentioned the victim, a girl whose childhood and innocence was stolen by an adult appointed to care for her.
This is the second time Muñoz has written a letter in support of someone convicted of crimes against children. Earlier this year, she wrote a letter in support of Mary Chessica Hauge. In July, Hauge was sentenced to 30 months in prison for knowingly, and repeatedly, leaving her two children alone with their father, a convicted sex offender who abused his daughter from another marriage. Muñoz, in asking for leniency, wrote she was “impressed by (Hauge’s) strong Christian faith and her dedication to regular (church) attendance.”
We are not impressed with Hauge or with Muñoz’s actions.
In 2015, the Oscar-winning film “Spotlight” offered a dramatic depiction of the revelations that exposed widespread sexual abuse in the Catholic churches of Boston. At one point in the film, a character remarks, “If it takes a village to raise a child, it takes a village to abuse one.”
When we speak up on behalf of an abuser but not a victim, we encourage further abuse.
Muñoz, who represents the Mendenhall Valley, is the person who asked Alaskans to “Choose Respect” and supported the passage of a bill called Erin’s Law, which demands public schools teach children about sexual assault prevention.
Our Mendenhall Valley representative has repeatedly proven her mettle and competence in the Legislature, but her bizarre character endorsements and her reaction when questioned by Empire reporter Paula Ann Solis have us doubting her judgement as a public official.
Muñoz said she didn’t recall writing the first letter about Hauge, and that it must have been a letter from the church that she signed. That is completely, factually untrue.
The letter included her official Alaska House of Representatives letterhead, and her signature was the only one attached to the letter.
When interviewed about Jack, she said she didn’t know him very well, and he was more of a family friend.
Her letter contradicts that statement.
“… Tom (Jack Jr.) and his extended family have been friends of my husband and mine,” she wrote on May 18. Later, she says Jack’s “conviction has had a profound impact on me. There have been times when I laid awake at night unable to sleep concerned over the length of his sentence and the cold reality that he may never see freedom again.” Muñoz then asks for Jack to be “returned to the community.”
When we contacted her, Muñoz attempted to distance herself from the letter, but she did not say it was a mistake. We encourage her to do so and disavow the letter. It is not too late.
Muñoz, in addition to being one of 60 lawmakers in the Legislature, is chairwoman of the subcommittee that decides the court system’s budget. Her letter undoubtedly placed pressure on the court system to act as she wished. Her chairmanship carries an implicit threat, even if it was not explicitly stated: Go along, or your budget might shrink.
We do not believe Muñoz was making a threat, but the Alaska Legislature has ethics rules to avoid this gray area. When Muñoz wrote this letter on official letterhead, she may have violated the state’s ethics guidelines.
The matter has already been referred to the Legislature’s ethics committee for investigation, and we encourage a thorough vetting of the facts.
Muñoz was not the only person who wrote a letter. Others came from family members, educators and friends: George J. Bennett Sr., Rory Schneeberger, Keith Berggrern, Sitthida Sukkamon, Melissa Elmore, Karen Sharclane, Rev. Kirk J. Elmore, Juliana C. Jackson, Inga M. Hanlon, Louise Anne Kadinger, Kirsten Barry, Maggie Worrell, Dorothy D. Zura and Ken Deitering.
Many said they knew Jack well or considered him a friend. We say this: If you didn’t know of his abuse, you didn’t know him.
None of these letter-writers have shown concern for the victim, who according to the District Attorney’s Office was treated like a pariah after she told authorities of the abuse. Some of the letters asked the judge to return Jack to Hoonah — where small-town life would force his victim to confront him.
We don’t need to rehash Alaska’s sexual violence statistics. You know them and so do we. Alaska is a leader in the nation when it comes to sexual abuse, including acts involving children. It’s a problem we’ve been trying to solve, but as long as the attitudes of these letter-writers persist, we never will.
