(Kodiak, AK) –Tuesday retired Supreme Court Justice Joel Bolger sentenced 49-year-old Nathan Benton of Kodiak to a composite sentence of 12 years with 5 years suspended and 7 years to serve for two counts of sexual abuse of a minor in the second degree. Benton was convicted of two counts of sexual abuse of a minor in the second degree and two counts of sexual abuse of a minor in the third degree following a trial held in Kodiak in June 2023. Two of the counts Benton was convicted on merged at sentencing, leaving tow outstanding convictions for sexual abuse of a minor in the second degree.

The victim and her family spoke to the court at sentencing. The victim described that she felt shame and isolated herself from her friends, family, and community following Benton’s abuse. “I have had so many obstacles. I sunk into a deep depression made worse by threats to keep quiet.” She described having nightmares, flashbacks, anger, confusion, and suicidal thoughts as a result of the abuse. She told the court “I now have a voice again through support of my family. I am a victim and he is a liar who took advantage of me and abused me. I was a 15-year-old girl who trusted a horrible person. He violated me, my innocence, my trust, and faith in people.” The victim’s mother spoke about the impact the case had on the victim and their entire family. She noted the victim faced ridicule at school where many people stull trusted and believe Benton such that she ultimately had to leave the Kodiak school and attend her junior year out of state. She spoke to the court and directly to Benton, responding to the numerous community members who testified and wrote letters in support of Benton “Everyone is a good worker, a good person, hard worker, and coach, they are a good person until they are not. When you were put in a position to make a choice, you made the wrong one. It was at that point when you changed to a perpetrator, a pedophile, and a sex offender.”

Numerous members of the community testified and wrote letters in support of Benton noting that he was a hard worker and a respected coach and mentor. Prior to this offense, Benton was a long-time wrestling coach in the community of Kodiak.

At the sentencing hearing, Assistant Attorney General Bailey Woolfstead requested Justice Bolger sentence Benton to a composite sentence of 8 years to serve for the sexual abuse convictions. Ms. Woolfstead argued that the power dynamic, overt actions taken by Benton to silence the victim in the wake of the abuse, the complete lack of remorse expressed in his trial testimony, and the significant impact his actions had on the victim’s life merited a strong sentence.

Benton’s lawyer, Elizabeth Flemming, asked for the minimum sentence, or 2.5 years to serve, and told the court “You are sentencing a man, not a plague of sexual assaults or a plague of murdered and missing indigenous women, or a plague of domestic violence. You are sentencing a human being with a family and with a long time of valid meaningful service to this community.” Benton spoke to the judge and said he was deeply sorry for the mistakes he made. He apologized to the victim and to her parents.

In handing down the sentence, Justice Bolger noted the prevalence of sexual abuse in rural Alaska perpetrated against children by trusted authority figures. “While I am not sentencing a plague, part of the sentence is a warning to others in a position of authority. This sentence is intended to warn these people who may be tempted by their close association with children to engage in sexual misconduct. This sentence should be a warning to those people.” Justice Bolger placed Benton on probation for a period of 10 years following his release from jail, as well as numerous conditions including sex offender treatment. Benton will be required to register annually as a sex offender for 15 years following his discharge from probation.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant Attorney General Bailey Woolfstead of the Office of Special Prosecutions Rural Prosecution Unit.

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