(Fairbanks, Alaska) — This week, the Alaska State Troopers and Fairbanks Police Department arrested Gareth Ward for allegedly sexually assaulting multiple juveniles in the Fairbanks area.
On July 8, 2025, at 2:29 am, Alaska State Troopers in Fairbanks received a request for a welfare check on an underage female. AST responded to the location in North Pole and made contact with a male subject exiting a vehicle who was identified as Gareth Ward, age 44 of Fairbanks. The teenage juvenile female was also located in the vehicle. Investigation revealed that Ward met the female on social media the day prior and offered her a job. He picked her up and transported her to the location and sexually assaulted her after forcing her to smoke methamphetamine.
Fairbanks Police Officers began their investigation into a separate sexual assault on July 4, 2025, after a teenage juvenile female victim reported that she had been sexually assaulted. The report stated that an unknown man approached her in a vehicle and offered her a ride. She accepted, but instead of taking her to where she requested, the man drove her to a storage unit where he sexually assaulted her. On July 9, FPD detectives were contacted by an Alaska State Troopers investigator who had arrested Gareth Ward. The FPD victim positively identified Ward in a photo lineup, and detectives confirmed evidence placing Ward at the storage unit where the assault occurred.
Gareth Ward has been charged with three counts of Sexual Assault in the Second Degree related to the FPD case. Alaska State Troopers charged Ward with Sexual Assault in the First Degree and Misconduct Involving a Controlled Substance in the First Degree.
These cases are being prosecuted by the Fairbanks District Attorney’s Office.
This investigation is still ongoing, and investigators believe there may be additional victims. Anyone with information is asked to contact troopers at (907) 451-5100 and reference case number AK25066457.
