A former Alaska State Trooper has been sentenced to eight years in prison with four years suspended, after being caught by his own colleagues in a high-profile child sexual abuse sting.
Vance Peronto, 63, was sentenced on one count of attempted child sexual abuse in the 2018 case, according to a Thursday statement from the Alaska Department of Law. The prison term was handed down by Superior Court Judge Andrew Peterson.
Charging documents say Peronto — then a Soldotna-based trooper with 16 years on the force — met his intended victim during an April 2018 traffic stop for driving with her headlights off. Although he knew she was underage, Peronto exchanged text messages with the 16-year-old girl in which he offered to be her “personal trooper.”
Peronto eventually tried to end the escalating online relationship due to the risk it posed to his career, as the girl’s father learned of the messages and contacted troopers. The Alaska Bureau of Investigation took over the case, leading to his arrest.
“Eventually, an ABI investigator, posing as the victim, used a social media account to arrange for Peronto to meet ‘her’ at a hotel,” prosecutors said Thursday. “On the designated day, Peronto arrived at the hotel and was immediately arrested. A search of Peronto during his arrest revealed recently purchased Victoria’s Secret underwear.”
The charges against Peronto said he arrived at the hotel in his patrol vehicle.
Troopers ended Peronto’s employment after his arrest. They also conducted a wider investigation of his contacts with the public, after a lawsuit accused him of sexual harassment over disturbing text messages he allegedly sent to a state prosecutor’s personal cellphone.
A jury took nearly three days to convict Peronto on the attempted-abuse count in March. It didn’t reach a verdict on additional charges of possessing child pornography, based on explicit images Peronto allegedly requested from the teen.
At his sentencing Wednesday, the Department of Law said Peronto’s defense presented him as a “least serious” offender, arguing for probation to two years of prison time. But Peterson imposed the full sentence sought by prosecutors, the department said, emphasizing the “twin sentencing goals of general deterrence and the reaffirmation of societal norms.”
“Judge Peterson pointed out that general deterrence should be especially effective in this case as it is likely every trooper in the state will learn of Peronto’s sentence,” prosecutors said. “And he emphasized that the particular sentence was necessary at least in part because the Alaska community must be able to trust that members of law enforcement will not, themselves, violate the law.”
Under the terms of Peterson’s sentence, Peronto will spend seven years on probation after his release. Upon leaving probation, he must then register as a sex offender for the following 15 years.
Chris Klint is a web producer and breaking news reporter at Alaska Public Media. Reach him at cklint@alaskapublic.org. Read more about Chris here.
