The former mayor of an Alaska village who was once honored as “Parent of the Year” by the Alaska Federation of Natives faces 47 felony counts accusing him of sexually abusing teenage girls over a 16-year span, court records and state law enforcement officials said Friday.
Ulric Ulroan, 48, first came under investigation in January, when the Alaska Bureau of Investigation received a tip that he had sexually abused a 17-year-old girl in his home village of Chevak between 2009 and 2010, according to a bureau news release. The tip prompted an investigation that yielded additional reports of Ulroan having “sexually assaulted and/or abused various teenage girls” between 2009 and 2025, the release said.
The abuse was alleged to have occurred in Chevak as well as in Anchorage, Mountain Village and Nome.
A Bethel grand jury on Tuesday returned an indictment charging Ulroan with 47 criminal counts, including first-degree sexual assault, first- and second-degree sexual abuse of a minor, second-degree indecent exposure, and furnishing alcohol to a person under 21.
Investigators arrested Ulroan four days later and he was remanded to the Anvil Mountain correctional center. Bail was set at $250,000, the Alaska outlet KNOM reported. State records showed he remained at the jail as of Sunday.
Lead investigator Brian Wassmann of the Alaska State Troopers told KTUU that “there are at least six victims” involved in the indictment. Some charges allege that Ulroan “was in a position of authority over the victims while committing these crimes,” the outlet reported.
Ulroan’s community profile stood in sharp contrast to the allegations. He served on Chevak’s city council and was the city’s mayor by about 2007. He also coached high school girls basketball and worked as a pilot for the regional carrier Bering Air in Nome. From 2005 to 2023 he was a certified foster parent.
In 2019, the Alaska Federation of Natives named Ulroan and his wife, Mary, “Parents of the Year.” In a news release at the time, the organization said the couple had six children and three grandchildren and encouraged them to excel “in academics and sports.” The release quoted Ulroan as telling young people, “Just do it, to start something without hesitation,” and cited his late grandmother’s advice: “no matter what anyone does to you, leave them alone and do anything back.”
Mary Ulroan issued a statement to KNOM describing her husband’s arrest as an “extremely painful time.” She said she could not comment further “because this is an active legal matter.” Her statement said her “first priority is the safety and wellbeing of all people affected and the privacy of my own children as they navigate this difficult situation.”
“I respectfully ask for compassion and privacy for our family, especially my children,” she said.
The Alaska Bureau of Investigation said in its news release that state troopers “believe that there could be additional victims” of Ulroan and asked anyone with information to contact investigators.