In Fedolfi v. State,[1] the supreme court ruled a police officer’s convictions for attempted third-degree sexual assault and official misconduct were the same offense for double jeopardy purposes. The police officer offered to drive a drunk woman home, but instead he drove her to another location, exposed himself to her, and tried to sexually assault her. The officer was charged with attempted third-degree sexual assault for attempting to engage in sexual penetration with someone in the officer’s custody. He was also charged with official misconduct for attempting to sexually assault someone in his custody. The district court rejected the officer’s argument that the charges should merge into a single conviction because it found the sexual assault and misconduct statutes protected different societal interests. After pleading no contest on both counts, the officer renewed his argument to merge the convictions on appeal. The supreme court reversed, reasoning that the two criminal charges against the officer protected the same societal interest. Specifically, the supreme court found that the legislature in both instances banned police officers from having sexual activity with a person in their custody. The supreme court also noted the legislature classified both of the officer’s offenses with the same degree of seriousness. Reversing the lower court’s decision, the supreme court ruled a police officer’s convictions for attempted third-degree sexual assault and official misconduct were the same offense for double jeopardy purposes.
[1] 456 P.3d 999 (Alaska Ct. App. 2019).
