A former music teacher accused of repeatedly sexually abusing one of his Nikiski Middle-High School students has been released from jail.
Jeremy Anderson was released Tuesday after Superior Court Judge Carl Bauman granted it with conditions that include $25,000 cash turned over to the court, a $50,000 unsecured appearance bond, a third-party custodian and an electronic ankle monitor, according to court records.
Anderson faces 16 charges of sexually abusing a minor younger than 16-years-old while occupying a position of authority relative to her.
Fourteen of the charges are unclassified felonies, which are the state’s most serious crimes — punishable by up to 99 years in prison and a $500,000 fine per charge. The other two charges are class B felonies, which are punishable by up to ten years’ imprisonment and up to $100,000 in fines per charge.
The charges are based on allegations that the former school choir director and music teacher coerced a 15-year-old student into performing oral sex on him and raped her on several occasions between 2013 and 2014.
Many of the incidents are alleged to have happened at the school, according to charging documents.
During the bail hearing, the court set that Anderson’s wife would be his third-party custodian and listed several geographic areas where Anderson is barred from going, including the Soldotna Fred Meyer store, Safeway and Arby’s in Kenai, Kenai and Soldotna’s public libraries, the Soldotna teen center, all Kenai Peninsula Borough Schools and local or state parks. In addition, Anderson is not allowed to travel north of North Forest Road in Kenai and cannot leave the borough — he surrendered his passport to the court during the hearing.
The alleged victim’s mother testified during court that she was not opposed to the release, according to log notes filed after the Monday hearing. She asked that Anderson be placed under house arrest so that she and her family would not have to be on high alert. Several of the places Anderson is specifically barred from going are those in which the victim’s family work or frequently visit. The victim’s mother also said she was concerned that Anderson knew where her family lived, however Anderson’s lawyer, Public Defender Dina Cale, said Anderson and his wife would be living in Sterling and would have no reason to visit Nikiski.
Anderson’s next hearing will be July 20 at 3:30 p.m., and he is scheduled for trial in August.
Reach Rashah McChesney at rashah.mcchesney@peninsulaclarion.com or follow her on Twitter @litmuslens
