FAIRBANKS — A convicted sex offender has been accused of sexually abusing a young relative.

Jack E. Brown, 60, of Fairbanks, has been charged with one count of second-degree sexual abuse of a minor, a class B felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

The alleged abuse came to light last month when the girl told the Alaska Bureau of Investigations that Brown had inappropriately touched her “a few times” around April of this year, according to a criminal complaint filed in court.

When investigators initially contacted Brown, he told them that if anything inappropriate happened with the girl, it was accidental.

But during a second interview, Brown admitted to one inappropriate incident that he called a “weak moment.” He told investigators the girl was not lying about the allegations, according to the complaint.

Brown was convicted in 2005 of failing to register as a sex offender, though details of his original sex crime conviction are not listed in Alaska court records. He is not listed on the state’s sex offender Web site.

Under state law, sex offenders convicted before 1994 do not have to register with the state, and some are only required to register for 15 years.

SOURCE:  http://newsminer.com/news/2009/oct/20/sex-offender-accused-abuse/