A former Kenai Peninsula Borough School District custodian was arrested Thursday on allegations that he sexually abused a minor while he was working at Soldotna Middle School in 2013.
According to a dispatch from Alaska State Troopers on Friday, 52-year-old Alexander Coxwell, of Soldotna, was arrested following “an extensive investigation into allegations of sexual abuse of a minor dating back to 2013.” He was charged with three counts of first-degree sexual abuse of a minor, three counts of second-degree sexual abuse of a minor and one count of unlawful exploitation of a minor.
An affidavit by Investigator Edwin Anderson, included with charging documents filed Thursday, Sept. 5, says that he began investigating a report from the Office of Children’s Services on Feb. 29. Anderson found those concerns to be “unsubstantiated” but became aware of three prior investigations against Coxwell — in 2013, 2016 and 2018 — all involving “concerns of inappropriate relationships” between Coxwell and KPBSD students while he was employed as a custodian at both Soldotna Middle School and Skyview Middle School. None had resulted in criminal charges.
In July 2013, Alaska State Troopers were told of “an illegal sexual relationship” between Coxwell, then 42 years old, and a 14-year-old student, according to the affidavit. The report came from a parent of a friend of the student.
The friend told troopers that the sexual relationship had been ongoing for around a year, the affidavit says, and that Coxwell had provided the student with a phone, tobacco and other drugs.
The “assigned investigator,” who is not named, interviewed the friend and was told that Coxwell and the student had had sex multiple times, both in the school and at his home, according to the affidavit. The friend also alleged that Coxwell provided drugs through a tampon box in a school bathroom and passed notes. The affidavit says that school staff found handwritten notes and rolled cigarettes in the described location that tested positive for marijuana and provided them to the investigator.
A staff member at a health facility provided the investigator with a phone, the affidavit says, which they said had been broken and disabled by the student when she was confronted about it.
The investigator obtained a warrant to record a conversation between the student and the friend during the 2013 investigation, but before any “substantive conversations” were recorded, the student was admitted to a health facility in Anchorage, according to the affidavit.
“The investigator did not conduct any followup … after she was discharged,” the affidavit reads. The affidavit’s account of the investigation jumps from 2013 to Anderson’s new investigation in 2024, 11 years later.
Alaska State Troopers on Monday declined to respond to questions about the 2013 investigation, but said “generally speaking, investigations might be paused for a number of reasons including an uncooperative witness or victim, a victim or witness that has left the area and is not available for an interview, or other valid reasons that prevent investigators from obtaining sufficient evidence to refer charges for prosecution.” Troopers on Tuesday denied a records request from the Peninsula Clarion for the report from the 2013 investigation.
Anderson writes in the affidavit that he “became aware of” the later 2016 and 2018 investigations. It’s not clear from the affidavit whether those investigations were undertaken by Alaska State Troopers or another law enforcement agency. The affidavit says that those later investigations “documented statements” from KPBSD employees that said Coxwell “was forced to resign from his position” due to concerns about inappropriate relationships with students.
Alaska State Troopers also on Monday and the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District on Friday declined to respond to questions about the 2016 and 2018 investigations.
“The District is aware of the charges against Mr. Coxwell and is working with the Alaska State Troopers as part of their investigation,” a statement from the district on Friday evening reads. “Mr. Coxwell was a custodian at the District until November 30, 2016 when he resigned from employment. As this matter involves an ongoing investigation, the District is unable to provide any further comment at this time.”
During a meeting of the KPBSD Board of Education in Seward on Monday, KPBSD Superintendent Clayton Holland briefly addressed the sexual abuse allegations and the district’s role in investigating them. He said that recent allegations against Coxwell and others that date back to the same time period happened before he or other district leadership were in their roles. But, he said they’re the ones now who have to take responsibility.
He spotlighted recent steps by the district to improve its reporting system through Title IX, including the addition of a school safe hotline, and said that his team takes these issues seriously. Those steps, he said, are to “ensure our kids are safe.”
“It’s embarrassing to be the leader of a district when something like that comes out from the past,” Holland said. “The buck stops with me, so I’m putting it out there, that stuff sickens me.”
The Clarion on Friday filed a records request to Soldotna Police Department for the police reports from the 2016 and 2018 investigations. The department on Tuesday denied the request, citing “ongoing investigation.” They said that they weren’t involved with the 2018 investigation.
In March of this year, Anderson contacted the former student from the 2013 investigation and told her of his concerns regarding Coxwell’s “continued pattern of behavior,” according to the affidavit.
She told him, per the affidavit, that she engaged in a sexual relationship with Coxwell for over a year. She consented to aiding Anderson in the investigation and, while monitored, exchanged “over 1,300 text messages” within a week prior to the arrest on Thursday, according to the affidavit.
The affidavit says that in those texts, Coxwell made “numerous statements” about having sex with the former student beginning on Dec. 31, 2012.
Coxwell was leaving to work on the North Slope on Thursday, the affidavit says, and Alaska State Troopers met him at the Kenai Municipal Airport and arrested him. He was taken to Wildwood Pretrial Facility.
Coxwell was scheduled for arraignment on Friday morning. As of Friday evening, no other court dates are listed. Public defenders are representing him.
Since 2000, at least four former KPBSD staff members have been convicted of crimes stemming from sexual misconduct that occurred while they were employed by the district, according to previous reporting by the Peninsula Clarion.
The dispatch says that troopers believe “Coxwell may have additional victims,” and encourage people with information to contact 907-262-4453.
This story was updated on Monday, Sept. 9, with comment from Alaska State Troopers. It was updated Tuesday, Sept. 10 with details about Soldotna Police Department’s rejection of a records request and statements made at the KPBSD Board of Education meeting on Monday.
Reach reporter Jake Dye at jacob.dye@peninsulaclarion.com.
