A celebrated Alaska Native storyteller is facing felony charges for allegedly having sex with an underage boy. Forty-three year old Jack Dalton is charged with sexual abuse of a minor in the second degree and attempted sexual abuse. KTUU originally reported the case.
Charging documents say Dalton met the 14-year-old boy through Criagslist and had sex with him at the boy’s house. The boy’s mother contacted police after finding explicit messages and photos on his phone. An officer then contacted Dalton, pretending to be the boy. According to the police complaint, Dalton wrote back and asked the boy to meet him at his house. He acknowledged through text messages that he knew the boy was about 14 years old. On April 15, thinking he was meeting the boy, Dalton left his apartment and instead encountered police.
Dalton is known for work that explores Alaska Native culture and identity issues. He recently wrote and toured the state with his play “Assimilation,” which delved into the forced boarding school experience, trauma and its effect on culture. He also appeared in a play about sexual abuse of minors in rural Alaska.
Dalton discussed his career and its intersection with trauma and healing on Forum@360 in January, where he alluded to difficult experiences he had had growing up, too.
“And so, even though I, myself, I was adopted at 5 days old and grew up in Anchorage with a very kind, caring, loving middle class white family — still ended up dealing with many of the same issues that my other Native family members dealt with. Because of the traumas that, you know, my mother’s generation and the generation — my grandfather’s generation, and even earlier, had been dealing with since the arrival of westerners in Alaska.”
Assistant District Attorney Daniel Shorey says Dalton was released to his mother’s custody. Dalton has not entered a plea.