(Bethel, AK) – Yesterday, a jury found 59-year-old Matthew Nicori guilty of Sexual Assault in the Second Degree and Sexual Assault in the Third Degree after a week-long trial. These convictions relate to the sexual assault of a 16-year-old girl in the village of Akiak in May 2018. Nicori exercised his right to represent himself at trial. The jury deliberated approximately an hour and a half before returning their verdicts.
Superior Court Judge Nathaniel Peters presided over the trial. After the verdict, Nicori was remanded pursuant to statute and is being held without bail pending sentencing, which is scheduled for Oct. 16, 2025, at 8:30 a.m. Both counts will merge into one single count of Sexual Assault in the Second Degree pursuant to law. Nicori was previously convicted of Sexual Assault in the Second Degree in 1988. Nicori faces a sentencing range between 15 and 30 years to serve.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant Attorney General Bailey Woolfstead of the Office of Special Prosecutions’ Rural Prosecution Unit and Assistant District Attorney Jason Sorensen of the Bethel District Attorney’s Office, with Paralegal Bethany Kaiser of the Bethel District Attorney’s Office. The case was investigated by Alaska State Trooper Sergeant Brandon Viator.
“We are grateful to the survivor who showed remarkable strength and fortitude as she testified and was cross examined by the man who sexually assaulted her,” Woolfstead said, following the verdict. “We are thankful that the jury held Matthew Nicori accountable for his offense.”
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