A former teacher and union president accused of sexually abusing a minor student was acquitted by a judge’s order Wednesday of five of the 55 charges he faces after his lawyer argued the state had not presented evidence to support them during his ongoing trial.
Nathan Erfurth, 37, is a former Soldotna High School history teacher and also former president of the Kenai Peninsula Education Association. He was arrested in May 2023 after a former student alleged that he had sexually abused her in 2017 and 2018 when she was a minor. He was indicted on 61 charges by a Kenai grand jury in June 2023, and has pleaded not guilty to each.
In 2024, Kenai Superior Court Judge Kelly Lawson dismissed six charges of possession of child pornography against Erfurth, but denied a motion to dismiss 42 counts of second-degree sexual abuse of a minor, seven counts of fourth-degree sexual abuse of a minor and six counts of unlawful exploitation of a minor.
When Erfurth’s trial began on July 14, he faced 55 charges for his alleged conduct. Erfurth has denied the allegations.
District Attorney Dan Strigle, the prosecutor, rested his case on Tuesday, the 12th day of the trial.
Eric Derleth, Erfurth’s attorney, on Wednesday motioned to have his client acquitted of some charges. Each of the charges against Erfurth describes certain acts in specific locations. Derleth said the prosecution did not present any evidence to support some acts in some locations.
Lawson granted the motion in part, acquitting Erfurth of charges #2, 5, 6, 52 and 55. Three of those charges are for fourth-degree sexual abuse of a minor and two are for exploitation of a minor.
The move comes as the trial extends through its third week. A 14-member jury has heard extensive testimony from witnesses called by the state, including from the accusing student; from the current and former heads of human resources for the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District, who detailed previous investigations of Erfurth’s conduct with the student in 2016 and 2017; from Alaska State Trooper Investigator Samuel Webber, who detailed the process leading to Erfurth’s 2023 arrest; and from the student’s mother, who contradicted Erfurth’s claims that she approved of his connection to her daughter and said she’d repeatedly tried to distance the two.
Derleth had had less time, as of Wednesday, to present his case. He brought a tiny home, which prosecutors said was the setting for many of the alleged crimes, to the courthouse for the jury to view. Derleth has also presented witnesses in an attempt to discredit the accuser.
In testimony for the defense, Erfurth’s wife on Tuesday refuted the allegations against her husband, citing what she said were inconsistencies with the student’s descriptions of his anatomy.
Erfurth was called as a witness Wednesday afternoon, though Derleth’s questioning had at that time yet to extend beyond background information, mostly covering his history in Colorado and rural Alaska.
Reach reporter Jake Dye at jacob.dye@peninsulaclarion.com.
