A former Soldotna High School teacher and local teachers’ union president has been sentenced to more than 20 years in prison following his conviction on multiple counts of sexual abuse and exploitation of minors.
Nathaniel Erfurth, 37, was sentenced last week in Kenai Superior Court to a total term of 77 years and one month, with 57 years suspended. The sentence results in 20 years and one month to serve in prison, followed by 15 years of probation upon release.
As part of the sentence, Erfurth will be required to register as a sex offender for life and comply with additional probation conditions related to sex-offender supervision. He is eligible for statutory “good time” credit, which could reduce his active prison term by approximately one-third if he maintains good behavior while incarcerated.
Erfurth was convicted in August on 24 counts of second-degree sexual abuse of a minor and four counts of first-degree unlawful exploitation of a minor. The convictions stem from conduct that occurred while he was employed by the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District.
“The victim is a former student. Mr. Erfurth developed a parental relationship with the named victim while she was a student. Mr. Erfurth exploited this position of authority and trust to induce the victim to engage in several acts of sexual penetration. The victim and Mr. Erfurth would communicate privately over an end-to-end encrypted messaging application called Signal. Mr. Erfurth would solicit lewd photographs and videos of the victim through this messaging application,” the State Department of Law wrote in August, when Erfurth was convicted.
At the time of his arrest in May 2023, Erfurth was a history and government teacher at Soldotna High School. He had been placed on full-time release from classroom duties and was serving as president of the Kenai Peninsula Education Association, the local teachers’ union representing educators across the district. He was removed from that union leadership role shortly after his arrest.
Erfurth continues to maintain his innocence and plans to appeal the convictions.
The case was prosecuted in Kenai Superior Court.
4 thoughts on “Soldotna teachers’ union president sentenced for exploitation of minor”
The only thing worse about a non church going man versus a church-going man heading to prison for the same sentencing here. Is this soldotna guy doesn’t know God and he’d feel utterly hopeless. While the guy from Ketchikan he knows of God and as challenging as prison life: He knows of the Light of Christ and this hope in the church going man from Ketchikan his challenge won’t leave him hopeless and worse off but a more intentional Christian than how he lived before Goose Creek.
The soldotna its most likely he a is a leftist liberal athiest seeing the occupation he held because it does not go to Christian or Conservatives or Republican men and women. The liberal goes to jail without friends and without hope because he doesn’t even know of God to get him through the challenging season he finds himself in
Don’t forget there is Every Man’s or Every Woman’s Battle for the man or woman you know who is promiscuous either online, tv, or in person
Dang Tina. Your Christian view of right and wrong harms you personally and the church, or religion, you represent. The conclusions and assumptions you make are despicable and insulting to all Alaskans with more than an IQ above a bar of soap.
I am SO thankful my mom and dad directed me away from your religion.
Dear Tina, once again please try Grammarly. Maybe then you’ll be able to more clearly express your twisted religious zealotry. You don’t make sense, your grammar is horrible, and sometimes I wonder if English is your first language. You give us all a headache trying to understand what you are saying.
God is fake. Evan is correct.
These judges sure suspend an extraordinary amount of time that these convicted sexual predators are sentenced to. In this case the 77 year sentence could result in less than 14 years. According to the reduced sentence that the judge delivered this convicted sexual predator would be 57 when he gets out of jail if he doesn’t exhibit good behavior and if he is a good boy he will be 50-51. Sexual predators shouldn’t have their sentences reduced to 1/4 or less of what they were convicted of, it’s a travesty of justice.