A judge has ordered former Juneau chiropractor Jeffrey Fultz to either find a new attorney or begin representing himself in two weeks. Fultz was first charged with sexual assault in 2021 and now faces accusations from more than a dozen alleged victims.
The case’s complexity — and the near complete turnover of personnel working on it — have led to long delays in bringing Fultz to trial. Three alleged victims called in to the hearing on Wednesday to say that those delays have caused them ongoing harm.
“The prolonged duration of this case not only prolongs my suffering, but the suffering of other victims and potentially endanger other people in communities,” said an alleged Fultz victim identified as C.E.L.
C.E.L. asked Judge Joel Bolger to ensure the case would move as quickly as possible.
“Justice delayed is justice denied. And so I do ask that we do what we can today and try and move it forward as quickly as possible,” C.E.L. said.
In December, the state declared Fultz’s defense attorney “medically unable” to continue. But issues with his representation have delayed the case for nearly a year.
“He’s required to move forward and hire another attorney right now,” Bolger told the court.
But Bolger is only hearing the case on a temporary basis. No judge is currently assigned to the case, which has also contributed to the delays.
And the case has lacked a lead investigator since Juneau Police Officer Daniel Darbonne died in May.
Police arrested Fultz based on accusations that he had assaulted three patients while he was a chiropractor for Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium.
Over the last three years, 11 more women have come forward. Fultz now faces 18 felony sexual assault charges and one misdemeanor harassment charge.
He posted $40,000 bail in 2021 and has been living in Colorado since, with some monitoring by law enforcement. He is not allowed to practice medicine as a condition of his release.
C.E.L. said the delays only benefit Fultz because the state allowed him to live in Colorado, with minimal monitoring.
“It’s not only buying him time, but it’s also eroding the continuity that we as victims have within this case,” she said.
State prosecutor Jessalyn Gillum told the court that the prosecution would look to change his conditions of release if there isn’t movement soon.
“The state would be seeking to potentially readdress his conditions of bail, if the sort of period of inaction continues,” she said.
The next hearing is on Jan. 24 at 3:30 p.m. Bolger ordered Fultz to appear in Juneau in person.
