The case against a former Soldotna High School teacher and teacher’s association president who is accused of sexually assaulting a former student took a couple of new turns this week when a judge dismissed six child pornography charges. 35-year-old Soldotna resident Nathaniel Erfurth still faces 49 counts of sexual abuse of a minor and six counts of exploitation of a minor.
Additionally, according to court documents, on July 23, Erfurth filed a civil defamation suit against his accuser in what could be considered a calculated move. The suit seeks $100,000 in recompense.
The six dropped charges follow a January 10 motion to dismiss filed by Erfurth’s attorney, Eric Derleth, on the grounds that the grand jury was presented with “false and misleading evidence.”
“I filed a motion to dismiss his indictment because the state of Alaska presented false testimony that he allegedly confessed to having a sexual relationship with a former student,” Derleth said in January of this year. “The truth is that the police secretly recorded him denying any relationship dozens of times during the span of about four hours. The state also intentionally withheld from the grand jury other crucial evidence that would help prove Mr. Erfurth’s innocence on all the charges.”
Also, according to Derleth, the child pornography charges were not based on physical evidence collected by the state but on accusations made by Erfurth’s accuser, who alleges sensitive images were exchanged in a phone app.
Judge Kelly Lawson rendered her decision on the motion on Saturday, July 27, granting dismissal of the six charges for possession of child pornography. However, Lawson denied theremainder of the motion to dismiss the remaining 55 charges against Erfurth, calling the evidence presented by the prosecution “reasonably complete and fair.”
Erfurth originally faced 74 charges. However, 14 of those were stricken by Kenai Judge Jason Gist on July 5, 2023. One new indictment was added at Erfurth’s arraignment, bringing the then-total charges to 61.
Erfurth was arrested in May 2023 after a former student came forward about the alleged abuse, accusing him of a sexual relationship.
In the early stages of the case, Derleth said he believed the state’s case against Erfurth was “weak,” claiming it was based solely on the word of the former student. “The state of Alaska’s prosecution of Nathan Erfurth is quite weak because it entirely hinges on the word of one and only one witness, who herself has a history of compulsive lying.”
The former student filed a report in April 2023, alleging Erfurth “sexually assaulted” her multiple times and in several locations, including her home, his home, and Soldotna High School, over a period of multiple years.
At least 10 of the charges stem from incidents that allegedly occurred on Soldotna High School property where Erfurth taught history and government.
All of the alleged incidents took place between September 2017 and September 2018.
