Grand Jury indicts former attorney general nominee on charges of sexual abuse of a minor

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - A man who was nominated for the Alaska Attorney General position was indicted by a Grand Jury Monday on sexual abuse charges relating to an incident over 30 years ago.

Current Attorney General Treg Taylor released a statement on the indictment of Ed Sniffen, who is charged with three counts of third-degree sexual abuse of a minor. The alleged incident was reported to have occurred with an Anchorage high school student while Sniffen was “in a position of authority” in 1991, the year that Sniffen turned 28.

Attempts to reach Sniffen’s attorney for comment Wednesday went unanswered at the time of publication.

Sniffen was appointed to the attorney general position by Gov. Mike Dunleavy in January 2021, five months after the previous attorney general, Kevin Clarkson, resigned after information came to light about him sending inappropriate text messages to a young female colleague.

Only 11 days after making the appointment, Sniffen removed himself from consideration for “personal reasons.”

On May 27, 2022, charges were filed against Sniffen following an investigation by special prosecutors.

The Superior Court arraignment for Sniffen is set for Monday afternoon.

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