An Utqiagvik man, Donovan Nungasak, was sentenced on April 3 to 18 years in prison for sexually exploiting minors and producing child sexual abuse material.
The case highlights ongoing efforts by law enforcement to address the exploitation of children online. Officials say such crimes have a serious impact on victims and communities.
According to court documents, the FBI received an anonymous tip in August 2024 that led investigators to discover Nungasak had explicit material involving minors on his phone. The investigation found that he communicated with at least one underage victim for sexual purposes, sent her photos of his genitalia, and possessed multiple sexually explicit images of her. After his indictment in May 2025, two more victims came forward. One reported being contacted by Nungasak through Instagram and Snapchat when she was about 15 years old; he requested nude images from her and sent money via an online transfer service in exchange. Another minor victim said she began receiving messages from him while she was in high school; although he requested explicit images and sent inappropriate photos himself, she blocked him without sending any such content.
Law enforcement recovered a total of 41 images of child sexual abuse material from Nungasak’s phone, including some depicting prepubescent females. Investigators also interviewed a witness who said Nungasak admitted liking younger girls because he could "groom" them.
Nungasak was arrested at his home in Utqiagvik on April 28, 2025. He pleaded guilty to one count of production of child pornography later that year. In addition to the prison sentence, the court ordered him to serve twenty years under supervised release after completing his custodial term.
“Mr. Nungasak targeted young females because he liked to control and exploit their perceived vulnerabilities and then lied about his conduct when confronted on multiple levels,” said U.S. Attorney Michael J. Heyman for the District of Alaska. “His sick torment is over thanks to the actions of law enforcement, our attorneys and the victims and witnesses that came forward during the investigation. He will now spend nearly two decades behind bars.”
“There is no greater priority than safeguarding our children from predators like Nungasak, whose disturbing pattern of conduct involved grooming minors for CSAM in his own local community,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Brandon Waddle of the FBI Anchorage Field Office.
The FBI Anchorage Field Office investigated this case with help from the North Slope Borough Police Department; Assistant U.S. Attorney Carly Vosacek prosecuted it.
This prosecution is part of Project Safe Childhood—a nationwide initiative started by the Department of Justice aimed at combating child exploitation online.
