Alaska State Troopers are investigating the death of a 16-year-old female in the community of Selawik that occurred during the late hours of Tuesday or the early morning hours of Wednesday.

Kotzebue-based troopers received the report of the young girl’s death at 1:35 am on Wednesday morning and traveled to Selawik to investigate.

Their investigation revealed that 29-year-old Selawik resident Brent Norton had furnished alcohol to two female juveniles, aged 16 and 17, then later engaged in sexual relations with the 16-year-old girl while she was incapacitated. The girl was later discovered dead at a friend’s residence.

Norton, a substitute Selawik patrolman, is currently awaiting trial in a February case where he furnished alcohol to a 13-year-old girl on more than one occasion.

Kotzebue troopers and troopers from the Western Alaska Alcohol and Narcotics Team arrested Norton on Wednesday and charged him with two counts of Felony Furnishing Alcohol to a Minor as well as Sexual Assault II. He was transported to Kotzebue where he was remanded to the Kotzebue Jail. He was held without bail until arraignment.

Selawik, located at the mouth of the Selawik River, 70 miles to the southeast of Kotzebue, bans the importation and sale of alcohol.

The young girl’s remains were sent to the State Medical Examiner’s office in Anchorage for autopsy.

Discussions with the Office of Special Prosecutions is ongoing in the continuing investigation, and the result of those discussions will determine if additional charges will be filed against Norton.[xyz-ihs snippet=”Adsense-responsive”]

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