A Kenai jury on Tuesday found a former Soldotna High School teacher, who was also the head of the local teacher’s union, guilty of aggravated sexual abuse and unlawful exploitation of a former student while she was a minor. The verdict caps a multi-week trial in which jurors heard hours of testimony from more than a dozen witnesses, including the defendant.
Jurors deliberated for six days before finding 37-year-old Nathaniel Erfurth guilty of 28 of the 46 criminal counts he faced in the case. Of those, 24 are for aggravated sexual abuse of a minor in the second degree and four are for unlawful exploitation of a minor in the first degree.
To reach a guilty verdict on each count, jurors had to unanimously agree that Kenai District Attorney Dan Strigle proved the state’s case beyond a reasonable doubt.
During the trial, Strigle argued Erfurth abused his position of authority and good standing in the community to groom and sexually abuse a vulnerable student while she was still a minor.
The district attorney presented evidence showing Erfurth and the student communicated using encrypted messaging applications, that Erfurth had access to the student’s health and academic records and that the student’s mother knew the relationship had crossed professional boundaries.
“Nathan Erfurth was able to get people to deny what was right in front of their very eyes,” Strigle said in his closing statement. “ … How was he able to do this? How was he able to do this over time? Through their trust, through their affection, through what opportunities were in the schools for him to exploit.”
Strigle also said testimony from the former student showed she accurately described the layout of the places where the sexual abuse occurred and details about Erfurth himself.
“She sat there and was on that stand for days, and she gave you every bit of her honesty,” Strigle said of the victim. “At the conclusion, when you guys go through this evidence, there is no reasonable doubt in this case.”
Eric Derleth is Erfurth’s attorney. He argued Erfurth is a victim of false allegations by the former student and poor investigative work by law enforcement. Derleth said witnesses for the defense testified to his client’s reputation as a risk-averse, well liked teacher and community leader who provided a father figure to a child in need.
“Once upon a time, there was a very compulsive liar, some pretty bad cops, and a, let's call it enthusiastic, prosecutor who tried to take down one of the best teachers you're going to meet in our community based on lies,” Derleth said in his closing statement.
Derleth also said there wasn’t any physical evidence to prove a sexual relationship occurred.
It’s been more than two years since a Kenai Grand Jury indicted Erfurth on 61 counts in the case, to which he pleaded not guilty. For various reasons, 16 were dismissed.
Last summer, Superior Court Judge Kelly Lawson dismissed six counts of possession of child pornography after determining the state didn’t have evidence of child sex abuse material on Erfurth’s electronic devices. In July, the judge dismissed five more charges after agreeing the state failed to present supporting evidence during trial.
And then ahead of jury deliberations, the judge tossed four more charges for offenses that fell outside Alaska’s statute of limitations for misdemeanor child sex crimes.
Troopers began investigating and arrested Erfurth in 2023 after the former student reported she and Erfurth had a sexual relationship while she was a minor. Troopers secretly recorded conversations between Erfurth and the student, during which they say he admitted to having a sexual relationship. That claim was challenged at trial.
Prior to his arrest, law enforcement had twice investigated Erfurth for alleged inappropriate contact with the same student. Charges were not brought in either case.
Since posting bail, Erfurth had been on house arrest with third-party custodians. But after Tuesday’s verdict, he was taken back into custody.
Erfurth’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for Dec. 11 in Kenai. Derleth, the defense attorney, told KDLL on Wednesday that an appeal in the case is “a certainty.” He and the district attorney declined to comment further on the case.
Under state law, Erfurth faces presumptive prison time of five to 15 years per count. Jurors also determined aggravating factors are warranted for some charges in the case, which means the judge can sentence him to more prison time per count than the normal sentencing guidelines.
If you or someone you know has experienced sexual violence, resources and reporting information is available through the LeeShore Center in Kenai, which offers services for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault. The organization’s 24-hour crisis intervention line is 907-283-7257.
