Former Bethel school principal pleads guilty to federal charge of attempted child sexual coercion

BETHEL — A former Alaska elementary school principal reached an agreement with prosecutors to plead guilty to federal charges of attempted sexual coercion of a minor, court documents said.

The plea agreement with Christopher Carmichael was entered into court records Friday, KYUK-AM reported.

Carmichael signed the plea agreement Nov. 3., according to court records. His Anchorage-based attorney Allen Dayan, declined comment on Monday.

The former principal of Gladys Jung Elementary School in Bethel will plead guilty to knowingly attempting to persuade, induce, entice or coerce a minor to engage in sexual activity, the agreement said.

A federal grand jury indicted Carmichael on three other charges including a second count of attempted coercion of a minor, one count of possession of child pornography and one count of attempted transfer of obscene material to a minor.

Those three charges will be dropped in the plea deal.

Carmichael was arrested in December 2019 by the FBI’s Child Exploitation Task Force.

A 14-year-old girl claimed in June 2019 that Carmichael sexually assaulted her. Police in Bethel investigated by posing as the girl’s 13-year-old cousin and messaging Carmichael online.

The former principal replied with sexually explicit messages and asked for a meeting in Anchorage with what he believed to be the 13-year-old girl, authorities said.

[A Western Alaska school district repeatedly dismissed allegations against a principal. Then an FBI agent pretended to be a 13-year-old girl.]

The maximum penalty for the charges are no less than 10 years and up to life in prison and a fine of $250,000. Carmichael will also have to register as a sex offender.

The state of Alaska separately charged Carmichael with two counts of sexual abuse of a minor. The charges are still being processed in the court system and Carmichael’s next hearing is scheduled for Dec. 17.

Attorneys for four girls have filed lawsuits against the Lower Kuskokwim School District claiming the district failed to protect them from sexual abuse by Carmichael. Jury trials for the lawsuits are scheduled to begin in the fall of 2021.