A unique story was reported recently from the state of Alaska. A group supporting sexual abuse victims called Standing Together Against Rape, recently sponsored an Alaskan Lottery. The lottery was created to raise funds to help the non-profit create awareness for sexual abuse victims. A drawing took place this past Friday to find a winner. On Saturday the winner came to claim his prize. Alec Ahsoak was the winner of the $350,000 prize and after claiming his winnings it was found out that Alec had plead guilty to three counts of sexual abuse of a minor in 1993 and 2000.

Standing Together Against Rape worked with Lucky Times Pull Tabs to create the lotteries and it has been estimated that the lotteries could eventually raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for the organization. They should receive $2,000 to $20,000 from the lottery but the Alec has talked of giving $100,000 to the charity.

The families of Alec’s victims say that he should not receive any of the winnings. Alec was contacted by the Anchorage Daily News and was advised by his lawyer to not talk to the media. Alec currently lives at a hotel and his lawyer has stated that no children are staying at the hotel, which is used in the community to help people in or coming out of treatment programs.

One victim was interviewed; she is now in her 20s. She commented that seeing Alec win was like a slap in the face, especially when you consider what the lottery was raising money for. She commented: "I don't think he should get the money. I know that's not up to me to say ... it's just not right that he would get the money. We're still dealing with it and he gets to walk away with half a million dollars."

The Standing Together Against Rape organization commented in a statement issued by the group: "The story of Star is not about the winner of the lottery. The story of Star is about the victims of sexual assault we serve and sexual assaults we seek to prevent through our educational outreach."




- 2009-01-14