Accused serial rapist in Nebraska has ties to Alaska

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - A man with connections to Alaska is in custody and facing several charges in Nebraska.

Puoch Thuok Puoch, 22, is facing 11 charges related to sexual assault cases in Nebraska.

He was in Alaska at least up until 2021.

Court records show Puoch didn’t report to his probation officer in Alaska in September 2021 and then had his probation revoked in Alaska on Jan. 5, 2022.

He had been arrested in Alaska on weapons charges in April 2021, he plead guilty in a plea deal to a weapons-related charge and was sentenced to 24 months in jail with the sentence suspended, and then in September 2021 he failed to show up for a probation check, according to court records.

A warrant for his arrest was issued once his probation was revoked.

He was and has been in custody in Omaha since April of last year.

This past Tuesday, Omaha Police say Puoch was already in custody there on felony charges relating to domestic violence. His new charges include attempted kidnapping, terroristic threats, theft, two counts of first-degree sexual assault, two counts of burglary and three counts of robbery.

“Special thanks to our team of detectives, Forensic Investigations Unit and our law enforcement partners for their diligence in conducting a thorough investigation and ultimately making the arrest of this very dangerous individual,” Omaha police wrote in a news release.

According to news reports in Omaha, three women came forward last March with similar stories of sexual assault and eerie break-ins.

On March 10, a 32-year-old woman told police she was sleeping on her couch in her home when she awoke to a man walking around with a phone flashlight. She told police she believed the man was her husband until he grabbed her and attempted to drag her out of the home and sexually assault her.

A week later, a 39-year-old woman told police she woke up to a man sitting on her bed, and that he had broken in through her apartment’s bedroom window. A criminal complaint alleges the man attempted to sexually assault her before leaving with her purse and wallet.

The following week, a 49-year-old woman told police she heard a noise downstairs early in the morning. According to a police report, she went downstairs to find a man in her home by her back door. She told police the man sexually assaulted her and left with her wallet.

“We’ve had some serial rapists before, certainly, over the course of time, but this is a little unique in that it’s also a crime of opportunity,” Douglas County Attorney Chief Deputy Brenda Beadle told WOWT. “We’ve charged him with robberies, burglaries and sexual assaults, so it’s a little different in that respect.”

Alaska’s News Source has requested information from the Alaska Department of Corrections asking why Puoch’s probation officer waited until Jan. 5, 2022, to revoke Puoch’s probation, which was violated nearly five months before.

Puoch was back in court Wednesday morning to hear the new charges that also include robberies at businesses in Nebraska.

Additional reporting by Mike Mason and David Bernknopf.

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