Prominent Alaska storyteller Jack Dalton is accused of having sex with a teenager he met on Craigslist.
Dalton, 43, faces two charges: second-degree sexual abuse of a minor and second-degree attempted sexual abuse of a minor. The state added the latter charge against Dalton on Wednesday, said Assistant District Attorney Daniel Shorey.
The charges say Dalton visited the home of the 14-year-old boy, who in an online post claimed his age was 19, in March. Dalton allegedly tried to meet up with the boy again in late April, and he admitted in a text that he knew he was underage.
Dalton, born in Bethel, has toured widely with his stories and plays rooted in Alaska Native culture. His works had elevated him to a position of mentorship in the community and he has spent time in villages teaching kids how to write stories. He most recently performed in the play "Our Voices Will Be Heard" in Anchorage, which centers on trying to overcome sexual abuse.
An Anchorage Department Police detective from the Crimes Against Children Unit started investigating the potential sex abuse of the 14-year-old in late March after the teen's mother found sexually explicit photos and texts exchanged between him and two adult men, according to the charges.
The teen "explained to (his mother) that he had represented himself as a 19-year-old male on Craigslist to solicit sexual encounters with other males," the charges say.
Detective David DeLesline wrote in the charges that two men responded to the online posting. The first man who responded to the post has not been charged with a crime, according to online court records.
Prosecutors say Dalton was the second man to reach out to the boy. They initially communicated over email but switched to texting before Dalton went over to the boy's house for sex, according to the charges.
Police tied Dalton to the texts through his cell phone number. They did the same for the other man, according to the charges. The teenager told police he ignored both men after his encounter with Dalton.
"He said they texted him about coming over again, but he did not respond," the charges say. "He said he did not discuss age with either male."
Then, on April 15, DeLesline used a search warrant to pose as the alleged victim in text messages to Dalton, according to the charges. Dalton allegedly acknowledged he remembered the boy and agreed to "hookup sometime soon," the charges say.
DeLesline continued the conversation by telling Dalton he (posing as the boy) was not 19. "I kinda figured. But I'm still talking to you," Dalton allegedly responded.
Dalton correctly guessed that the boy was 14, according to the charges. He suggested they meet at his place so there wasn't concern about being disturbed. Dalton eventually arranged a meeting for April 26. On that day, when Dalton went outside his apartment to meet the boy, he was met by Anchorage police officers, the charges say.
During a subsequent interview, Dalton allegedly admitted knowing he planned to have sex with a minor. He also told police he'd had sex with another underage male he'd met on the internet five to six years earlier.
He additionally stated that he didn't know if there were child pornography images on his computer but that he used software to view such material, according to the charges.
Dalton appeared for a bail hearing at the Anchorage jail on Wednesday morning. His mother Linda Dalton was approved as a third-party custodian, Shorey said. He has since posted bail, he said.