Kobuk Village Police Officer, 21-year-old Leon Outwater was arrested by troopers on Thursday morning at 10:30 am on Solicitation, Sexual Assault of a Minor and Tampering with Evidence charges in the village.

Alaska State troopers were alerted by the mother of a 12-year-old female of Outwater’s advances towards her daughter and a trooper investigation was initiated with the assistance of the Northwest Arctic borough VPSO stationed in Shungnak.

it would be revealed in the investigation, that Officer Outwater, had solicited the 12-year-old girl at least 20 times in a 24-hour period via text messages. The trooper report also said that Outwater and also solicited the young girl “to have sexual contact with his genitals.”

During the investigation it was found that Outwater and he used the village of Kobuk’s cell phone to send that text messages while he was on duty. In an effort to destroy the evidence, Outwater deleted text messages from the phone when he was relieved of his duties, and so, was charged with tampering with evidence.

Outwater was arrested and charged with Solicitation/Sexual Assault of a Minor I, Solicitation/Sexual Assault of a Minor II, and Felony Tampering with Evidence.

After his arrest, Outwater was transported to the Kotzebue Regional Jail facility where he was remanded and held for arraignment.

Kobuk, with its population of just over 150, is located on the banks of the Kobuk River, 6.2 miles from Shungnak.