Fairbanks man gets 20 years for 2016 rape

A Fairbanks man has been sentenced to 20 years in prison after his conviction for raping a woman in 2016.

37-year-old Darrin Dunn was arrested in November of 2016 on charges that he raped a woman in June of that year.

Dunn served in the Alaska National Guard as a member of the 297th Military Police Company.

The victim was also a service member.

According to testimony at Dunn's trial in May 2017, he raped the woman at her residence while she was only partially conscious, making statements related to his superior rank.

State attorneys on Monday said Dunn tried to break into her home after she managed to regain consciousness and force him out, and that he only left after she retrieved a gun and pointed it at him.

A jury convicted Dunn of first-degree and second-degree sexual assault at trial last May.

At sentencing Monday, Dunn's lawyer argued for leniency because of his lack of a prior criminal record.

Speaking on his own behalf, Dunn maintained his innocence and said he planned to appeal the jury's verdict.

But the victim's mother asked for the maximum allowable sentence, saying his abuse of his status as a superior officer is evidence that he needed a strong sentence.

Judge Douglas Blankenship sentenced Dunn to serve 20 years with an additional 10 years suspended, and a probation term of five years.

Blankenship pushed back against testimony from Dunn's mother that suggested Dunn and the victim shared blame for the incident because alcohol was involved.

Judge Douglas Blankenship; Fairbanks Superior Court>>: "Victims in cases such as this - and in this particular case - are not culpable. Hopefully you can take that to heart and that will assist in your recovery from this."