Sex Offender Kidnapped, Sexually Assaulted and Shot Girl, 14, Then Left Her in Woods to Die. She Survived

A convicted sex offender in Alaska will spend the rest of his life behind bars after one of his young victims managed to survive a harrowing attack.

David Anderson, 52, will serve 50 years in federal custody in addition to the 85 years he is currently serving on state charges after a 14-year-old girl lived to report his crimes.

That young girl was kidnapped at gunpoint, bound, blindfolded, beaten, sexually assaulted, shot and then left to die in the Alaskan wilderness, according to a copy of Anderson’s signed plea deal obtained by PEOPLE.

Once Anderson had fled the scene, the young girl chewed through the tape binding her wrists together, according to the plea deal, only to discover that Anderson had stolen her cell phone and Nintendo Switch, meaning she could not track her location or call anyone for help.

The young girl then managed to find her way out of the woods and locate help without the aid of any of her devices, all in freezing temperatures.

Anderson confessed to his actions as part of his deal with prosecutors, which also required him to enter guilty pleas to one count of kidnapping a minor and one count of committing an offense as a registered sex offender. Prosecutors then agreed to drop all additional charges, according to a release from the Department of Justice.

He had previously been convicted of sexual assault in 2001 and was a registered sex offender in the state at the time of his offense.

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Per his plea deal — which recounted the horrors of that night — Anderson drove up the victim on Nov. 2, 2022, after she got off the school bus near her home.

He then pretended he was lost and asked the girl for directions in a bid to get her into his car, at which point he pulled out a fully-loaded gun and pointed it at the girl.

Anderson then “covered her head with a blanket, struck her at least once in the face, and bound her hands with duct tape,” according to the plea deal.

He then drove to a sparsely populated area and led the girl — still blindfolded from the blanket covering her head — into the woods.

Anderson then compelled the victim to engage in sexual acts through physical force and threats, per the deal. Once finished, he opened fire on her multiple times using a .22 caliber revolver, intending to kill her.

He then snatched anything of value from her backpack and walked away, believing he had fatally wounded the teenager.

The young girl then got to work and “was able to chew through the duct tape on her hands, walk back to the road, and flag down a passing motorist,” according to the plea deal.

She then provided police with a description of Anderson and his car – a 1968 Chevrolet El Camino – which led to his arrest that very same day.

“The survivor showed extraordinary bravery in escaping this horror and the Alaska State Troopers and FBI mounted an incredible investigation to hold this predator accountable,” U.S. Attorney Michael J. Heyman for the District of Alaska said in a statement.

Rebecca Day, a special agent in charge of the FBI Anchorage Field Office echoed that statement, saying: “I commend this young survivor’s extraordinary courage.”