Former UAF Assistant Athletic Director Kevin "Kip" Harmon pleaded no contest last Wednesday to second-degree criminal impersonation. Harmon resigned from UAF and declined his election to a seat on the local School Board when sexual harassment allegations were lodged against him in October 2004.

An investigation by the UAF Police Department revealed that Harmon was pretending to be a famous female bodybuilder in emails to women that led to him taking their body measurements, among other types of harassment.

"This is probably the broadest type of this type of crime that I've ever seen," said Lt. Syrilyn Tong, the lead investigator on the case.

At the time, police said the investigation revealed nothing criminal in nature, but the case was passed on to the Fairbanks Office of the District Attorney, which followed up on the investigation.

This past Valentine's Day found Harmon in court.

The charge, a class A misdemeanor, comes with a suspended sentence of one year, a $50 police training fee, a $100 jail surcharge with $100 suspended, 96 hours of community service, no contact with any of the victims, and Harmon must have his fingerprints recorded at Fairbanks Correctional Center.

One of the victims, speaking on condition of anonymity, said she thought the punishment could have been more severe, but she said the prosecutor had done as much as possible.

"As far as I'm concerned, the past is in the past," said the woman. "I think he needs help."

"Certainly he has caused a lot of anxiety and anguish to the victims," Tong said. "I don't think there's any way they themselves can say this is adequate. Unfortunately, society has to come up with a just system to deal with this."

According to the criminal complaint, Harmon, 46, used the alias of a now-deceased fitness guru and former pro-wrestler named Marianne Komlos to send hundreds of phony emails to eight women. The messages asked about their fitness regimen and suggested that Harmon should assist as a go-between in a fitness program.

The complaints range from getting hundreds of unsolicited emails dating from 2001 to 2004, to inappropriate touching and comments. Harmon reportedly emailed one student athlete "almost every day," wanting to talk about arm wrestling, weight training, and physical fitness.

"I can give you some great tips that Kip doesn't know about which are sure to help you beat the creampuff," writes "Komlos" in one of the emails.

According to court documents, one woman broke contact with "Komlos" after being repeatedly asked to go to Harmon to get her measurements done. The woman said the emails became "increasingly aggressive and somewhat sexually explicit in nature."

But at the time of some of Harmon's emails impersonating Komlos, the respected body builder was already dead.

The woman who originally filed the report with the police became suspicious that Komlos might be Harmon after "Komlos" told her to have Harmon take her measurements, and she decided to check the bodybuilder's official Web site. To her surprise, she found that the bodybuilder had died of breast cancer several weeks before she had received the last two emails.

The woman approached Harmon about the post-mortem emails and asked if he was in fact impersonating Komlos. The complaint says that Harmon had a "stunned look" on his face but denied the allegation. On Oct. 13, 2004, the woman told Harmon she was filing a police report, and Harmon resigned from the Athletics Department three days later. Five days after that he declined the seat on the school board that he had won.

The charges against Harmon were not filed until Feb. 14, 2006, the same day he was arraigned and pleaded no contest. The plea comes 16 months after Harmon resigned from UAF.

Assistant District Attorney Danielle Simmons, who prosecuted Harmon, failed to return several phone calls made by the Sun Star, as did Harmon's defense attorney.

Harmon came into contact with the women through his job at the Athletics Department, where he had worked for 16 years, and positions at the Chamber of Commerce, the Red Cross and while manning a booth at the Tanana Valley State Fair. Harmon used a free email address from excite.com, and according to the web portal and email provider, the account was created only a month before Harmon started giving it out.

In 2003, UAF Human Resources conducted a two-hour meeting with the Athletic Department to teach the staff about sexual harassment and how to report it, according to the police report. The report stated that it was a commonly held belief by those in attendance that the meeting was a result of Harmon's behavior.

One complainant believed that the meeting stemmed from an incident with a student worker who was insulted by a comment Harmon made. While a photographer took her picture, Harmon quipped, "Don't worry, she's used to this. Only most of the time with half her clothes off."

She had no idea where the comment came from, and because it was said in front of someone she didn't know she was highly offended.

Human Resources Director Carolyn Chapman said in 2004 that her department had investigated the case and that no action was taken.

"I don't think they had sufficient time to do administratively what they could have done," said Lt. Tong. "I'm sure there would have been administrative sanctions had they had the opportunity."

Eight women were listed as victims in the criminal complaint against Harmon.

"I doubt if it was the entire amount of people that he affected," Tong said. "I'm sure there was more."

Kip Harmon still resides and works in Alaska.

The real Marianne Komlos was a body builder, model, and, for a short time, a pro wrestler. Many websites purport to offer photos of her nude. She died Sept. 26, 2004