A little over year ago, Kipnuk resident Nace Paul allegedly slipped into a woman’s home and sexually assaulted her. Yesterday was first day of his criminal trial and Judge Dwayne McConnell spent most of it corralling a crowded room of Paul’s potential jurors.
Residents were flown in from communities throughout the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta and several potential jurors were already familiar with the case. One man said that he knows four of the witnesses to Paul’s alleged crime. Another said that he knows Paul personally and considers him a friend.
Paul, age 43, is charged with sexual assault in the first degree, three additional counts of sexual assault, one count of burglary, and one count of assault with a weapon. KYUK's reporting on his trial is ongoing.