The Department of Public Safety continues to investigate after prosecutors filed felony charges Monday against an Alaska State Trooper accused of attempted sexual abuse of a minor.
But the accused, 57-year-old Vance Peronto, is no longer a trooper. The Department of Public Safety said the 16-year veteran of the force is not employed by the state anymore, as of Tuesday morning. He had been based in Soldotna.
According to the charges, Peronto struck up an online relationship with a 16-year-old girl after a traffic stop several weeks ago. The charges say their conversations became sexually explicit and included nude photos. The girl’s father discovered the messages and reported them to authorities Thursday, kicking off an investigation that culminated in a sting operation in Anchorage on Sunday.
The charges say Peronto arrived at a hotel in his patrol vehicle hoping to meet the girl in her room. Instead, he found other troopers behind the door, and they arrested him.
Maj. Andrew Greenstreet, deputy director of the troopers, said there were many troubling aspects to the case.
“You get kind of a sinking feeling, that something like this could be going on,” Greenstreet said. “These types of cases where we investigate one of our own come up from time to time, and we act on them very swiftly and deliberately.”
A Department of Public Safety spokesperson said the case has prompted further investigation of Peronto’s past interactions with other members of the public. Greenstreet said the Alaska Bureau of Investigation is conducting a thorough review and taking any other complaints seriously.
“It’s a real possibility that other charges could stem as a result of that investigation,” Greenstreet said.
Jail records show Peronto remained behind bars Tuesday. A judge has ordered him held on $10,000 cash bail.
Peronto previously appeared in news reporting earlier this year in relation to a lawsuit, in which he was accused of sexual harassment for allegedly sending disturbing text messages to a state prosecutor’s personal cell phone.
Officials with the troopers and Department of Public Safety refused to comment on whether Peronto faced any review or reprimand related to that case.
Editor’s note: This story has been corrected from an earlier version that said the Alaska State Troopers fired Peronto. The troopers have declined to say why Peronto’s employment ended, as it is a confidential personnel matter.
Casey Grove is host of Alaska News Nightly, a general assignment reporter and an editor at Alaska Public Media. Reach him at cgrove@alaskapublic.org. Read more about Casey here.
