Former Valley elementary school teacher faces 14 new counts of sexual abuse of a minor

PALMER — A former Mat-Su Borough School District elementary teacher now faces nearly 20 charges of sexual abuse of a minor.

Prosecutors added more than a dozen new charges Friday in the case of Lukis Nighswonger, a self-described “pedophile” and former fourth-grade teacher at Iditarod Elementary. Nighswonger, 36, was initially charged with five felony counts of sexual abuse of a minor in October of 2018. There are 14 new charges including 11 Felony B, one Felony C and two unclassified felony charges. Dates of the incidents related to the new charges range from August of 2014 through October of 2018. The dates of the original five charges range from January of 2008 through December of 2016.

Nighswonger was arrested Sept. 26, 2018, after an interview with the Wasilla Police Department. According to the affidavit, Nighswonger acknowledged that he considered himself a “pedophile.” On Sept. 24, 2018, Mat-Su Borough School District officials informed WPD that a teacher in the district may have inappropriately touched a student, according to court documents. During an interview with district officials, Nighswonger admitted he had inappropriately touched a former female student. In his interview with WPD, Nighswonger said he inappropriately touched a former female student multiple times.

On Sept.26, 2018, a Child Forensic Interview was conducted with the victim, who said she was touched inappropriately multiple times in 2014. That revelation led to further reports of abuse by Nighswonger.

Nighswonger is in custody and is scheduled to make an appearance in Palmer Superior Court Monday at 3:15 p.m. There is both a bail hearing and arraignment scheduled, according to online court documents. Nighswonger’s pretrial is scheduled for Feb. 21 and the trial week is slated for March 18.

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Contact Frontiersman managing editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.