An Anchorage grand jury has indicted 52-year-old Lawrence Andrew Lekanoff on two counts of sexual abuse of a minor — a five-year-old child in an Anchorage park in 1994.
Lekanoff, whose address one time showed him as homeless and living in the woods in Muldoon, has a history of other charges. He was arrested in the Lower 48 on Feb. 27, and faces extradition to Alaska.
In 2018, Lekanoff was arrested in Thurston County, Washington, where he was a transient who was required to register as a sex offender due to a 1996 conviction in Anchorage on one count of first-degree sexual abuse of a minor.
For that 1996 conviction, he had received a 12-year sentence with four years suspended. When he was 24, he was accused of sexually assaulting two girls, ages 4 and 6. He’s also been registered as a sex offender in Montana and Colorado.
The Anchorage Police Department had investigated this 1994 case, but efforts to identify a suspect were unsuccessful at the time and the case went cold. The sexual assault kit collected in the case was tested in 2020 as part of the Capital Project, a State initiative to analyze untested sexual assault kits collected by 47 police departments across the state.
One of Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s priorities was to get all the rape kits that had been on the shelf processed. Thousands of untested sexual assault examination kits from across Alaska were processed by the end of 2021. A new law requires rape kits to be tested within one year to avoid backlogs and delays of justice.
DNA evidence linked Lekanoff to the 1994 sexual assault, bringing his known victims in Anchorage to three. The Anchorage Police Department reopened the investigation, and the Department of Law’s Office of Special Prosecutions presented the case to the grand jury.
If convicted, Lekanoff faces a sentence of up to 30 years imprisonment.
This is a “pedo” Steve-O. Heheh!
Mixed feelings. It’s good this animal faces justice. But damn, it feels a bit like we’re importing sex offenders.
How about this? If convicted, smear him in seal blubber and blood, then drop him onto the ice pack north of (formerly) Barrow.
In what manner is Mr. Lekanoff an imported sex offender?
Or are you just making random comments hoping one of them might make sense to someone?
I think he’s a registered Democrat and rounded up some homeless votes in 2020 for spending money.
Let me type really slowly for you. I don’t want to get ahead of your lips moving.
The article clearly states extradition is under consideration. Extradition is a big grown up word meaning one state or jurisdiction is asking another to deliver a suspect to the requesting location.
Meaning, pay attention now, this will be tricky for you, he’s not in Alaska right now.
Done scratching your point yet?
To an intelligent person, meaning not you, the implication is he will have to be imported back into Alaska to face justice.
I understand it’s a subtly made point, and desperately out of your range of understanding.
Whatever is going on in your trouser is a pathetic whimper. Not at all a bark.
Once again, you illustrate publicly you have not the wit, intelligence, reading comprehension, or language skills to spar with me.
It’s sad you want my attention so badly. But that’s why I’m your daddy and you are, well, you.
Extradition, dipstick. Not importation.
Trouser, its a fool’s errand to argue with people who use cartoon references for their nom de plumes. I’m pretty certain that reality isn’t a consideration with this guy, Masked Avenger.
Better to stick with nom de plumes that refer to Walrus bones and flatulence!
I could learn much from you, Sir!
Oosik Puk, “nom de plumes,” eh? Oh, how far you’ve wandered off the tundra! But you do have Trouser Bark thinking that he “could learn much from you!” Sir!
I don’t know why you even try ma. But me and this guy must have been neighbors at one point, since I lived in the campground at Muldoon had about the same time. I guess we were all classified as homeless back then but most people were transients, some even had full-time jobs and came back to the campground each night to sleep in their tent or their car. When we left there, we gave our tent to some people across the way that had some tarps strung up in the trees. But if after he served his minimum and he was let out of prison and decided to stay in Alaska, then that would be an issue. Probably he’s going to die in jail now which would be too good for him.
Which recreational park that the city of Anchorage invites children to play in and is known after 39 years to be dangerous so that kids can stay away from Anchorage’s dangerous play areas. How many more recreational areas must Anchorage be forced to build and maintain. Also where was the parent of this child? Working or being educated to work? It is not safe to let children play in Anchorage playgrounds and hasn’t been for generations. Children who are taken to Anchorage playgrounds should be reported to the authorities for willfully endangerment of their children. Just because you want to believe propaganda on TV that Anchorage playgrounds are safe doesn’t mean they are and here is proof.
If it’s true that 59% of Alaska women have suffered some sort of sexual violence and the composite rate is twice as high in the villages compared to Anchorage is it that Anchorage parks are a problem or that native Alaskan predators lurking in the Anchorage parks are a problem, Granny? Mr. Lekanoff… where did he learn this behavior you figure? And that name… seems a little rural Alaskan, eh?
Some say it’s inappropriate to profile but everyone wears a costume.
Do you always while away the hours considering others sexual activities? I thought so. I would revoke your reviling privilege. I hope you stay away from children.
The surname is a Russian surname in the southcentral Alaska region. Who knows what happened in this person’s life. I nor you can imagine. Perhaps he was imprinted by bad library books. God knows. Your comments are ignorant garbage aimed at minorities. Your girlfriend had herself filmed in a church full of minorities actually saying she pitied herself for being the only white girl attending that school in Anchorage. Everyone shook their heads over that one. A few minorities saw their relationship with her with greater clarity after that. Thanks for exposing your stereotypes. They aren’t new nor innocent.
Let me assure you that any park that my child goes to in order to play is perfectly safe for him. I will be there. I will not be a victim. Neither will my child. If this is too much of a puzzle for you, I could spell it out, but I won’t. Now, can we please stop importing to Anchorage all of the filthy detritus of the uncivilized pedophiles and perverts from the villages? Yes, the villages don’t deserve to have these perverts live there, but neither do we. Can we please just incarcerate the perverts and pedos and keep them away from all civilized individuals, or would that be some sort of impingement of the perverts’ freedom?
Men, yet another reminder to you all, did you register for New Life’s Every Man’s Battle workshop. You know that Hundreds of men sign up per event and by its end were glad they did even at the beginning he begrudgingly went and it wasn’t what a man expected.
How about that guy nabbed for child ponography in Chugiak?
Or are we only worried about homeless folks who are arrested for child abuse?
It’s a sad attempt at conflating two unconnected issues. The story is about one specific person, not sexual crime against our kids writ large.
You’re smarter than this, but you do it anyway. Why?
For the record, Chugiak guy, if convicted, should be fed to the polar bear same as the subject of this article. Happy?
Actually I think Maureen has a point here. Both individuals have committed sexual crimes against children. Regardless of the specific act, I think we can all agree that any sexual crimes against children have a special reserved spot in any normal persons heart. This means that repeat offenders are not acceptable. Neither is waiting for a year for a rape kit to be processed. These are ‘one and done’ crimes. First time molesting a child? Child rape? Child porn? See ya! Put them on the ice flo.
Don’t look for arguments from this crowd when it comes to messing with kids.
Goodness MA-YOU are smarter than this.
Both should be in this article regarding the safety of our children.
Perhaps the long dominate Republican legislature and administrations can explain why the police have been stymied on the rape cases.
Why do these sick-os get so little time? What happened to three strikes and you’re out?
How many just like him are living in the woods in Anchorage. Villages do not share information on their banned citizens, just buy them a one way ticket to Anchorage. Just a fact, no racism intended. It’s a sad situation that needs to be addressed, but a touchy subject at best. Bears are the least of your worries when you use the trails.
As much as I dislike pedo’s, to be fair, a grand jury indictment does not mean this guy is guilty of this particular crime. Grand jury’s are not afforded the opportunity to hear the defense testimony or review defense evidence. This basically means the the prosecutor had to be plain stupid or have an extremely weak case in order to not get an indictment.
Did you miss the part where the “test kit” was finally taken off the shelf and examined? That would be samples that included DNA. It came back as a match from his previous arrests. The man gets his fair day in court, but he seems to have done this in the past.
Nope, didn’t miss it at all. Not defending the alleged perp but what happened to innocent until proven guilty? Believe nothing that you read and half of what you see.
News for you from a career LEO.
DNA testing and analysis are not infallible. DNA collection and filing isn’t either.
Also…newsflash…your DNA is not permanently fixed, not anymore than your fingerprints.
This is what we used to call the “internet detective” event, more often called the Youtube effect.
One, I expect that they have more than a DNA hit in order to file charges, I hope so.
Otherwise, heck, when we get a match we should just ditch the formalities. Matter of fact, if it’s a heinous crime we could just hire someone to drop him. Right?
I’m Not defending this guy, but let me share a Law school secret…
Justice is NOT an object or even a goal, it IS a process.
The process needs to be evenhanded and valid to have legitimacy and that legitimacy is necessary to hold a civil society together.
Eh, to heck with that, just string him up, even if he didn’t do this he must have done something some time bad enough. Right?
No, not right.
And for the record I share the same background as you. I stated that the man gets his fair day in court.
Justice as a “goal” or an object inevitably leads to rule of man; mob justice.
The reason so is that as an object it is always a moving target, ephermal, subject to the whims of human emotions and passion. That’s proven to be dangerous to human and civil rights.
If you have a similar background then you are very familiar with the phrases “evidence never lies, but it’s often misinterpreted.”
Or the other phrase “evidence never lies, that’s what attorneys are for.”
If you believe DNA is an absolute constant, I’ll refer you to some.virology journals. If you believe fingerprints are constant, then either your academy instructors or you need to go back to school…there is a reason why latent examiners are so selectice in certification and often dispute each other in court.
Justice as an object inevitably leads to lawlessness.
Justice as a process ensures the civil rights of the common man. In the same sense a good defense attorney who fights tooth and nail for his client who obviously “did the deed” is actually using the process to defend the common citizen against abuse of power by the state. Oddly enough, when a defense attorney challenges a search, it’s actually our rights he’s protecting.
Good luck, God bless, and Godspeed.
As a supposed leo, you must be aware of repeat offenders. Most criminals don’t stop at one event. We only catch the dumb ones first time around.
Style points for the herpetic sore on his lip. I bet that didn’t come from eating square meals.
I would support a 1 strike rule, one rape and your testes gets removed. Inability to get hard and violate someone else. Or do a permanent transgender surgery.
Start with the churches?
Sorry, churches are objects, those objects are buildings if we are being specific. Rapist members that belong to them, yes.
I understand hate will blind the common sense that used to be around. Not so much of that these days.
2nd! Start w/ the most evil practitioners first. Metzitzah b’peh should be on the short list.
To liberals: Jim bob is being humorous. Be careful publicly express humor such as castrating all. Because liberals will take it literally. Maureeny and trouser if they were adults in the 1940s-1960s they’d have no problem institionalized women of an inferior status
being sterilized.
Why not face facts we have plenty of parks and none of them are safe for children to play in in Anchorage and haven’t been for generations. People who believe otherwise are lying to themselves. We don’t need one more park nor any amenities. They attract predators and racist creeps. Parents ARE responsible 24/7 for the safety of their children.
Good, now go arrests the pedophiles working in the school district and Anchorage Assembly.
Do you even know what a pedophile is Mark? What makes you think they work in either the school district or Assembly?
This is why families are eager to get away from Anchorage. Except for the people who can’t afford to. Those are not generally voters, so it will continue to get worse. What we need is our laws to be enforced on an equal basis, no exceptions. The assembly is too busy funneling our tax money to the 501’s, to benefit themselves, than to deal with the problem in any way that would help eliminate it. Cash cow.
Could any law enforcement types here address the long times for processing evidence? Exactly where is the bottleneck and what do you think can be done to speed up the process?
All major cities have a similar backlog on DNA, but you are right, in that law enforcement could be more candid on this and many more problems in enforcement of the law. I really think that they could provide an insight. Sometimes it seems like they have sworn an oath of secrecy. Maybe the ones who are heading South could enlighten us. They know more of what’s going on than most of us.
Seems any backlog should be dealt with by temp contracts for more techs or with a second lab. These crimes are especially heinous and need to be dealt with quickly and decisively.
Gentle Readers, could it be that we have this all wrong?
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Could it be that 52-year-old Lawrence Andrew Lekanoff is the poster person for what Anchorage School Board intended to achieve all along
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… and is therefore more qualified than just about anyone to serve on Anchorage School Board?
.
Dark minds might wonder aloud whether Lawrence did to children what School Board members could only fantasize about doing to children by grooming them.
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Poor old Lawrence gets jail, Margo and friends get power and money to groom replacements.
.
What’s wrong with this picture?
Well, it’s clear that you have it all wrong. And it’s the only dark mind around.
The assembly will hire him to mentor children
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