Content warning: This article includes mentions of sexual assault and abuse that may be uncomfortable for some readers. Resources are available at the bottom of this post.
Jeffrey Fultz, a former chiropractor who allegedly assaulted 14 women under the guise of medical care, appeared in person in court in Juneau last month for the first time since 2021.
But nearly three years after Fultz was first charged, his new attorney said during the Jan. 24 hearing that he knew very little about the case, and he did not expect to be ready for trial anytime soon.
“This is not a case that, frankly, is likely to go to trial this year. [Sexual assault] cases are amongst, if not the most complicated cases there are,” attorney James Christie said. “In a normal setting, where you have a single complaining witness — we have I don’t know how many. I have not even seen a charging document at this point.”
Police arrested Fultz in 2021 based on accusations that he had assaulted three patients while he was a chiropractor for Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium. More women have come forward since, and he now faces 18 felony sexual assault charges and one misdemeanor harassment charge.
He has been living in Colorado, with some monitoring by law enforcement, since posting bail in 2021. In December, the state declared Fultz’s defense attorney “medically unable” to continue.
Several of Fultz’s accusers appeared in court or called in to the hearing. The women, who appeared anonymously, said that the long delays meant Fultz, who is 61, could live in comfort, out of custody and out of state, while they had to testify in over 20 hearings.
One, who is using the initials C.E.L., spoke to KTOO last week.
“The amount of determination and resiliency and strength to continue to show up — you have a lot more of it at the beginning. But three years later, that is hard to continue to have the motivation for justice,” she said.
Testifying by phone during the hearing, another accuser described the long delays as “just another iteration of the ability of Fultz to gain the trust and comfort of people in professional positions.”
“For him to be able to get 23 readiness hearings, and to have gone so long knowing that his attorney was not showing up — and he made no move,” she said.
Kathy Hansen, from the Alaska Office of Victims’ Rights, said the case has now also seen the loss of two important participants, placing Fultz’s accusers at a disadvantage.
“There is real prejudice when any case takes too long to get to trial,” she said. “In this specific case, we’ve had a detective who’s passed away — one of the victims, whose initials are C.W., has passed away. So prejudice is real, and the harm is ongoing.”
Judge Marianna Carpeneti said the delay was partly due to the pandemic’s effects on the court system and partly due to issues with Fultz’s representation. She said she wanted Fultz’s new lawyer to treat the case with urgency, but acknowledged that he would need time to be ready.
“Mr. Fultz also has constitutional rights,” she said. “And if we push this through, without his attorney having a chance to fully develop his case — that case then gets reversed and it comes back down, we have to retry the case over again.”
Carpeneti ruled that another hearing should be held sooner rather than later. But when Christie spoke again, he warned that it would take him a long time to get his bearings.
“It frankly looks to me — and I don’t know anything about the case — that very little has been done by Mr. Fultz’s prior counsel,” he said. “But I need you to be prepared. That is going to take me some time. And frankly, I think it’s going to take a long time for me. I’m sorry about that. That’s just the reality.”
The next readiness hearing is scheduled for March 13 at 10:45 a.m.
In early 2021, the Indian Health Services established a hotline for callers to report suspected child abuse or sexual abuse by calling 1-855-SAFE-IHS (855-723-3447) or submitting a complaint online on the IHS.gov website. The hotline may be used to report any type of suspected child abuse within the IHS, or any type of sexual abuse regardless of the age of the victim. The person reporting by phone or online may remain anonymous.
Locally, people can call AWARE in Juneau at 907-586-1090.
